In Search Of Eden
by dolphingirl0113
Summary: AU  In the Great Revolution, the demon Naraku turned the world upside down; murdering King Inutaisho and casting his sons into slavery. For seven years Inuyasha has fought for his freedom, and now his life rests in the hands of one brave human girl...
1. Chapter One

**Author's Notes: **_So then…it's been a while._

_Quite a while._

_I fell into a hole somewhere along the way, and have only just now managed to climb back out of it. And this story, I have to admit to you all, has been a long, long, long time in coming._

_Actually, this story has not been a long time in coming; what has been is the conclusion to 'Impossible Dreams'. I have received countless messages from wonderful readers asking when I would be finishing that story, and I have been giving much thought to that very question for several months now. __However, in the end I came to this conclusion: enough time has now gone by, and I have changed enough as a writer, that at this point it's better for me to simply start over. Rework it. Rewrite it from the very first page onward._

_You'll find on my profile that I've still kept the original 'Impossible Dreams'; I'm viewing this as a whole new spin on that older story. The premise will still be the same; and in fact, those of you familiar with the original will find much that doesn't change at all. But there will be some plots I expand upon, and others I perhaps decrease in importance._

_Regardless, I hope you all can enjoy this story, and I look forward to connecting with all my readers, new and old, again._

_Note the rating of this story; the first several chapters will be fairly mild overall, but the subject matter is intense, and eventually there will be more adult content to contend with, so I figured it was better to be safe than sorry._

_Blessings, everyone! And I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

Title: In Search of Eden

Author: dolphingirl0113

Chapter One

Rating: M - Violence, Language, and Sexual Situations

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. Any similarities to other existing stories is entirely unintentional and coincidental. This story is based originally on an earlier work, titled 'Impossible Dreams', and that work, like this one, belongs to me. Please do not plagiarize.

* * *

There was nothing so filthy as a slave auction. And Taro Higurashi, owner of the massive Shinto Estate, meant that in the most literal sense of the word.

The stench was probably the worst. And it was also always the first thing he noticed. The air thick with the putrid smell of unwashed bodies; of sweat and musky, well-worn clothes.

"Honestly, you'd think people trying to sell off their slaves would at least try and make them presentable," Lord Higurashi said as he wrinkled his nose and looked away from a particularly disgusting middle-aged man crouched on the other side of a slate of iron bars. He looked like he'd not seen the inside of a bathtub in months. "What man would purchase _that_ knowing he'd then have to spend the first few weeks just cleaning the man up?"

Lord Higurashi's companion, a short, chubby man, just chuckled. "We're not all like you, Taro. Not all of us care about keeping our slaves clean and presentable. That takes up far too much time and energy. Honestly, I don't know how you manage it."

"You'd change your tune once you realized the benefits of having order in your household," Lord Higurashi responded, to which his companion merely shrugged and remained silent.

Sighing, he mentally promised himself to do his duty quickly, choose some fresh blood, and get home as fast as possible. Because it wasn't just a matter of how disgusting this environment was; Taro Higurashi also found it much more difficult to ignore his conscience when he saw such poverty and ruin around him. When he saw the tragic eyes of children forced to grow up long before their time. The resentful eyes of the men who were going hungry, dressed in rags, while he strolled among them dressed in clothes made from the finest of silks. And the women…well…they always either made him think of his daughter, or he'd remember his long-deceased wife.

And neither of those thoughts did him any good.

Lord Higurashi had long since come to terms with the fact that his beautiful Megumi would have hated him for what he now did, and he had also long since learned to let go of the reality that his daughter Kagome didn't understand him, and that a rift had long since developed between them. Fracturing and splintering over time so that now it was as deep and wide as a chasm between mountains.

He'd done it all to protect her; to save her from the fate he now saw before him in the shape of every man, woman, and child clothed in rags and seated behind barred enclosures. And in saving Kagome, he had in turn been forced to sell his soul.

Taro Higurashi knew he'd never get that soul back.

There was no point in wishing things were different, either. The devil didn't give back what was freely offered in the first place.

So instead, he hardened his heart and did what needed to be done.

"What exactly are you looking for today, my good sirs?" One of the people in charge of this particular auction and sale, an elderly man with pale skin and hands that were so soft it was obvious he'd never worked a day in his life, approached, and Lord Higurashi had to fight the urge to step back in disgust. Knowing deep down he wanted to disassociate himself from such men…but also knowing such a thing was no longer possible.

He _was _one of them now.

"I'm in need of a few strong slaves to help back at my large estate," he said at last, keeping a mask of neutral boredom firmly in place on his face. "We're expanding, you see, and what I have can no longer get the job done. Not without working them to death, and I'm not really in the mood to replace the manual labor every time someone keels over."

Kagome would have cringed to hear him speak thus, and it made him ashamed of himself on the inside, but Lord Higurashi refused to let that show outwardly.

The older man, oblivious, simply smiled knowingly and nodded his head. "Of course. We have plenty of choices for you today, I think you'll find. If you'll just follow me…"

Lord Higurashi fell into step behind the other man, his companion in tow, and vaguely listened as his guide explained the various 'options' before him. Men. Women. Older. Younger. Looking with guarded eyes at the various specimens pointed out to him, but not feeling overly impressed by anything he was seeing.

He wasn't entirely sure what he was looking for as of yet…he just knew he'd recognize it when he saw it. He had a knack for reading people.

"…she was a bit of a handful for her previous master, but I think you'll find that in time you could probably teach her all you needed her to know…" The guide continued prattling on, indicating a young woman with hair that was already starting to gray at the temples. Her eyes tired. Her head down. Her shoulders slumped forward as though she were in a constant state of exhaustion.

It made him recoil, and Lord Higurashi wondered if there was even remotely any fight in her whatsoever, let alone enough to be a 'handful' for anyone, as the guide was saying.

There were so few left that he ever came across with any spark or spunk or personality.

Seven years had done that, he supposed; seven years since the Great Revolution had thrown the entire world on its head and changed everything everyone had ever believed in or known to be true. Free men had been enslaved overnight, and criminals had walked free to rule the land as its new masters. And a reign of terror had been born the likes of which no one had ever known before.

Lord Higurashi had survived and kept his freedom only by giving away everything he believed in and valued; had forsworn his heart and his soul over the still-warm body of his murdered wife, in order to save his daughter. And that was the only reason he was on the other side of these glorified cages now.

"Don't you have anyone with any sort of spirit left?" He finally found himself asking as they came to the end of yet another row of enclosures. "Forgive me, but these men and women all look as though they would collapse if asked to work one full day on my estate."

The guide looked slightly offended, but was wise enough to keep any insults to himself, recognizing that if he voiced anything out loud he might lose a customer.

Even Lord Higurashi's companion seemed baffled as he shook his head from side to side. "You make no sense to me at all, Taro; why would you want a slave with any sort of spirit? That makes them more likely to give you trouble, if you ask me."

He didn't respond.

How could he explain it?

Really, the other two men were right…as a slave owner, it was better to have subordinates who could barely remember their own names, let alone have any energy to cause trouble. And yet Lord Higurashi hated slaves in such a state. Maybe because it made him feel even worse about himself.

Who really knew for sure?

"It's just what I prefer," he finally said, hands in the pockets of his perfectly tailored pants, watching in distracted fascination as mud splashed over his boots as they walked.

And then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of amber…and his world shifted forever.

Stopping abruptly before an enclosure that seemed slightly separated from the others, Lord Higurashi came face to face with the most intense eyes he had ever seen in his entire life. A stunning shade of amber, they regarded him as though _he_ were the slave up for auction, and not the other way around.

Totally caught off guard, Lord Higurashi could only stare as he slowly took in the rest of the man; young, painfully handsome, but with a fierce scowl etched onto his face that seemed to scream 'fuck you' to the rest of the world. His posture oddly relaxed as he sat in a crouch in the far corner of his enclosure, one hand resting on his knee as a soft breeze silently blew through an amazing wealth of silver hair. Atop his head was a pair of little dog ears that should have been cute, but none would dare call this man cute for any reason.

He was dangerous.

Plain and simple.

"And who is this?" Lord Higurashi found himself asking at last, after finding his voice again.

Damn…if he'd wanted spirit, he'd found it in spades with this one…

The guide, who'd not even noticed he'd stopped, now came back and made a disgusted face as he looked at the young man in the cage. "That man…you don't want anything to do with him, let me tell you. He's been through four masters in the past two years. Has been the inspiration and the cause for numerous attempted revolts. Causes trouble everywhere he goes. Honestly, I fully expected he wouldn't sell to anyone for any price today, and am prepared to just kill him when all is said and done."

The slave barely even reacted to such a blunt pronouncement of his fate; either not caring that he could very well die before the day was done, or simply not letting them into his private thoughts.

Perhaps a little of both.

He was obviously a demon of some kind; not only did he have those dog ears, but he also had nails that looked sharp and dangerous, and around his neck there was a small black diamond. The ultimate weapon from the Great Revolution; the one thing that had managed to subdue humans _and _demons alike.

No one knew where they had come from, or how they were created, but these black diamond shards managed to seal away and restrict a demon's natural strength and powers, rendering him or her almost the same as a human. They could not be removed, nor could they be destroyed. And while of course there were rumors of people who could purify the magic within the shards and free a demon from the spell, at the end of the day obviously they were simply rumors…because the demons remained firmly under the control of their human masters.

The black diamond around this particular demon's neck stood in stark contrast to the brilliant red of his pants and his jacket, glowing ominously strong. Showing this particular shard required a significant amount of dark magic to keep the man in check.

"What's his name?" Lord Higurashi found himself asking, more and more fascinated by the minute.

The guide shrugged his shoulders. "No idea. Won't tell us, and his last two masters didn't know either. The only thing we do know is that he is always in the company of that man right there." The guide pointed out a second figure in the enclosure, and Lord Higurashi noticed him for the first time.

This was clearly a human man; there were no shards around his neck. But he was not without his own strength as he flicked his violet eyes towards them; hair slicked back in a thick, jet-black ponytail at the nape of his neck.

Currently he was crouched over a small fire they'd apparently managed to start, and aside from that one little glance their direction, he was apparently determined to ignore them.

"And how much would you be expecting to sell them for?"

The guide laughed. "Nothing. Like I said, I was fully expecting I'd be executing that demon by the day's end, and probably just giving away the human to whoever would take him." Suddenly the man looked intrigued. "Why do you ask?"

Lord Higurashi looked one last time at the demon, and then over at the guide. "Because I'll offer you fifty pounds for each, and spare you the energy it will take to kill the demon at the end of the day."

The other two men looked aghast, and it was Lord Higurashi's companion who found his voice first. "But…Taro…surely you can't be serious. Did you hear what the man said? This demon is nothing but trouble. Surely you can see that. His eyes…they really bother me. He'll bring you nothing but grief. Think of your daughter; think of Kagome. Of the danger you'll put her in."

Briefly Lord Higurashi wondered if his companion didn't have a point; if this might endanger Kagome.

But no.

He'd seen the look in that demon's eyes, and he wanted him. And if that meant he'd also get a human slave in the bargain, so be it.

Looking back at the guide, he straightened his shoulders and stiffened his spine. "Fifty pounds each. Take it or leave it." And with those words, Taro Higurashi sealed his fate, and that of his daughter Kagome, forevermore.


	2. Chapter Two

**Author's Notes: **_I am eternally grateful for the response I received to the first chapter of the story. It was incredibly nerve-wracking trying to post this story after so long on hiatus from the site; not entirely sure how it would be received. But so far all of you seem intrigued, and I'm glad you enjoyed what you read._

_In this chapter, we'll meet and greet Miroku and Inuyasha; it's still all setting the stage for what's to come. No Kagome just yet, but I promise next chapter our infamous lovers will finally face off for the first time, and there will be endless fireworks in their future from that point onward. Haha! So patience, everyone, it's coming!_

_I'll keep the notes short for this chapter and just let everyone start reading. Thanks to everyone for their reviews and support! It means the world to me, and I hope to hear from you all again!_

* * *

Title: In Search of Eden

Author: dolphingirl0113

Chapter Two

Rating: M - Violence, Language, and Sexual Situations

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. And any similarities to other existing stories is entirely unintentional and coincidental. This story is based originally on an earlier work, titled 'Impossible Dreams', and that work, like this one, belongs to me. Please do not plagiarize.

* * *

The thunder was heard just before the first rains fell. A light rain at first; more of a mist that the two men in the cart could actually turn their faces into and enjoy against their skin. One of them, human with jet-black hair, actually even managed a slight smile, although it vanished again the moment the cart stumbled through a pothole and left both men falling with grunts of pain to the floor.

It was never easy to balance nor comfortable to fall when their hands were bound. No way to reach for or grapple with the sides of the cart; no way to throw out their arms to brace for inevitable impact.

And as he heard cursing nearby, the human looked over at his companion and sighed. "There's no point getting angry, Inuyasha."

The second man in the cart struggled stubbornly back into a sitting position, tossing strands of damp silver hair out of his face as he threw his head violently back and forth with a grimace. Growling in irritation at last when he managed to get settled again. "According to who, exactly? You?"

Inuyasha looked at Miroku, his long-time friend and companion through life, and saw the man give one of his usual devil-may-care shrugs before looking away. "I'm just saying save the energy for later. We might need it. Try some meditation instead."

"Fuck you." Inuyasha had never really been known for his good manners or self-control when it came to his temper, so Miroku didn't even look phased by the crude language. Which only irritated the half-demon even more. "You're honestly telling me you have no problem whatsoever with having your hands bound, your wrists chafing, thrown into the back of some cart like pigs sold after auction, and then being thrown about with every stupid little bump and toss and turn of the wheels on the road?"

Again Miroku just gave an infuriatingly carefree shrug.

Of course it was always difficult to tell with the man if he was truly untroubled, or if he was simply choosing to _appear_ that way for the sake of anyone who was looking…but at the end of the day, it was still irritating as hell. Inuyasha was not a man who particularly enjoyed being pissed off all on his own.

It made him think too much about his childhood, and all the times his older brother, Sesshoumaru, had lectured him on his foul temper and the need for more control.

Damn, but he missed that sorry bastard.

Never thought he would, but Inuyasha did. Because compared to the hell he'd lived for the past seven years, Sesshoumaru's droll, tedious lectures seemed like a beautiful breath of fresh spring air.

Sighing, he leaned back against the edge of the cart and felt as the rain slowly grew thicker, the rain drops larger, and the air even more humid as they drove on into the thunder storm. His ears flicking in irritation each time a drop was rude enough to plop down on his head.

He hadn't always hated the rain; no, that had only come later, when he'd suddenly found himself sleeping without a roof over his head. He and all the other 'slaves' being rounded up and tossed in a big gated enclosure for safekeeping until they could be handed off to their new masters.

Those had been the worst days, by far.

His world had changed too rapidly, and he'd been too young to adjust without some hitches in his step.

His father had gone off to battle with the demon Naraku; promising his wife and two sons he would soon return with the foul demon's head tied to the saddle of his horse. Inuyasha could still recall that morning; his mother, the beautiful Queen Izayoi, kissing her husband the King for what would end up being the final time. Inutaisho had then patted Sesshoumaru on the shoulder, consoling the proud full-blooded demon and soothing his wounded pride, as he'd been informed he would be staying behind while the army went to battle. And then the mighty dog demon had bent down and ruffled Inuyasha's hair, the way he'd done a thousand times before, with a small smile and a demand that his younger son protect his mother and Sesshoumaru.

That was the last time Inuyasha had ever seen his father…alive.

Three days later, the battle reached the castle walls, and without any army to protect them, the royal wife and her children were helpless against the onslaught. Naraku, the demon from hell, had marched proudly into those hallowed halls, and at Queen Izayoi's feet he had triumphantly dumped the head of King Inutaisho.

Fear had dominated Inuyasha's thirteen-year-old mind then, to the point where he'd willingly done just about anything that was commanded of him. Hoping if he behaved, he would be permitted to remain with his mother and his brother. The black diamond shard placed around his neck as he and what remained of his family were shoved outdoors with the other captives.

They'd huddled together for warmth in those first few nights…

…until fear transformed into loss on the day his mother was ripped from his side and Sesshoumaru was taken, fighting valiantly, far, far away. Sent to the opposite corner of the kingdom.

Inuyasha had been truly alone for the first time in his life.

A week later, he'd learned that his mother was dead. Naraku had attempted to force her into marriage, and in response she'd escaped and been killed while trying to find her son. While trying to find _him_.

Inuyasha often wondered if his mother would have still been alive, had he never been born.

Not exactly a pleasant thought.

"You have that look again." Miroku's voice interrupted his thoughts, and Inuyasha looked up at his friend briefly before offering his own attempt at a casual shrug, which caused the other man to smile.

It was a miracle Miroku still even knew _how_ to smile, since god knew no one else did. But it always heartened Inuyasha to see the gesture, and overall made him feel like it wasn't quite time to give up the fight just yet.

Sighing, he looked over the edge of the cart as they rumbled across a well-worn bridge. A small creek flowing below. Absently he wondered if he should just roll over the side and end it all…but then on second thought figured that made no sense. Because knowing his luck, he'd land face-up instead of face down, and the stream wasn't deep enough for a man to drown that way.

So no suicides today.

"What look exactly are you referring to?" He finally asked, figuring talking with Miroku was better than dwelling on too many thoughts of the past. That always got him revved up, which was pointless.

"The look you get whenever you're thinking long and hard about anything…but especially when you're thinking about your past." Miroku attempted to demonstrate the face, and Inuyasha had to force himself not to smile. Not wanting to encourage the man. "And it's always painfully obvious when you make that face too, because let's face it, Inuyasha, you're not often lost in deep thought."

Urge to smile gone. "What's that supposed to mean, idiot?"

"Just that you're more of a take-action-first-and-think-later kind of guy. That's all I'm saying."

Inuyasha grunted. "Fuck you."

Again, Miroku just shrugged.

Damn that man! Couldn't he at least have the decency to _pretend _he was offended?

Not wanting to dwell on it any more since it always just made him feel suspiciously like he was on the losing end of some kind of battle of wills, Inuyasha chose to change the subject. "Do you have any idea where the fuck we are right now?" He indicated the gray mass of landscapes they were rolling by, partially obscured by fog and curtains of rain. "Because I lost my bearings a while ago."

Two days ago, to be precise; when they'd started this infernal journey.

Yet another master at yet another estate.

Inuyasha couldn't lie to himself; he'd been shocked when that middle-aged man with the crisply combed salt and pepper hair had actually made an offer to _buy_ them. But not shocked in a good way.

He and Miroku had already come up with a plan for escaping when that stupid auctioneer and salesman would have come to 'execute' him later in the evening.

That stupid slave master had spoiled his plans.

And Inuyasha planned to make Lord Taro Higurashi pay dearly for that mistake. He'd inspired riots everywhere else he'd been too; he'd do it again. Maybe because he had a death wish. Maybe because he could. Or maybe, just maybe, because as the second son of King Inutaisho, Inuyasha simply refused to fold up his tent and simply do as he was commanded.

Besides, he'd tried being compliant in the past, and all he'd received was separation from his brother and the murder of his mother as a thanks.

Clearly that wasn't a way to happiness either.

"I know about as much as you do," Miroku finally admitted out loud just as lightening again flickered across the sky, although the thunder took a little longer in coming, showing that perhaps they were moving away from the storm again.

Maybe that meant the rains would stop soon too.

Inuyasha's ears flicked again in irritation at the rain drops on his head.

A man could only hope.

"You're about another two hours' drive from the Shinto Estate, owned by Taro Higurashi, your new master," a third voice piped up suddenly, and both men swung their heads around to look at the driver. He was hunched over his reins, guiding the horses down the dirt road, and had remained silent for most of the journey, which meant that, ironically, Inuyasha had almost completely forgotten the man was even there.

Foolish mistake.

He could only hope they'd not said anything too incriminating that this man could report back to someone important. Because make no mistake, one of the things the hanyou had learned over these past seven years was that people would do almost anything for a few extra coins and the potential guarantee that they'd be left alone and free.

All rebels had been enslaved in Naraku's self-titled Great Revolution. Every last surviving soldier of Inutaisho's army had been drug back, the demons restrained with diamond shards, and that had only been the beginning. Next had come the people of the village near the castle, and from there, like a plague, Naraku's men had spread far and wide to conquer all those who would protest the new order of things. Men who agreed to serve Naraku had been allowed to keep their freedom, in exchange for minding groups of the newly-made slaves.

That's what made slave masters even more hateful; they had _chosen _to betray their own friends. Their own kind. Their own kin. Demons and humans alike who were looking only to their own survival, without giving a flying fuck about anyone else.

Rebellions had come often in those early days; it wasn't easy, as Naraku discovered, to enslave men who had all their lives been free to do as they pleased. But the spirit could only take so much, and slowly, over time, as rebellion after rebellion was defeated and beat down, people lost hope, and started to do what was necessary simply to survive.

For many, that meant letting go of who they'd once been; numbing themselves down to the marrow of their bones so that they no longer felt the emotional sting of humiliation when they were commanded to do something, any more than they would feel the sting of a whip if they were displeasing to their masters. And Inuyhasha didn't necessarily blame people for doing such a thing, either. He understood just how humiliating it was to sleep outdoors and to have to go to the bathroom where everyone could see in the middle of the yard. To be watched by the giggling daughters of the master as he worked. Ordered to do so without his shirt to give them a better show. Later beaten within an inch of his life for apparently seducing those same little brats with nothing but his 'evil demon eyes'.

Right.

Sad thing was, he wasn't even a pure-blooded, full-fledged demon. His mother had been human. But Inuyasha never bothered to correct anyone for making that mistake. Demons couldn't smell his half-breed scent anyway with the diamond shard in place, and humans…well…they tended to miss the truth even when it jumped up and bit them right in the ass.

Fine.

In this case, that just made hiding his identity easier.

Inuyasha preferred not to be known for who he was; that would just complicate things. Moreover, it would probably make him a bigger target. And he was already targeted enough for his taste.

"…and what sort of man is Taro Higurashi, do you know, friend?" Miroku had apparently been conversing with the cart driver, although Inuyasha hadn't even remotely been following the conversation himself.

The cart driver just snorted and hunched further over the reins. "I'm not your friend, _slave_. And as for Lord Higurashi, far as I've heard he's a tight-fisted son of a bitch who keeps two things close to his heart: his money, and some daughter who survived with him through the Great Revolution."

A daughter.

Outstanding.

Inuyasha could already imagine the looks she'd send his was; the ridiculous demands she'd make of him. The giggles as she reached out and tugged on his ears, commanding him to remain still or she'd inform the 'master' that he was being disobedient.

An estate was always worse when there were children, sons or daughters, running around. Because both sexes caused their own brands of mischief. And it never boded anything but heartache and physical pain for a slave.

"I see…well thank you for the information." Miroku always made a point of remaining polite, no matter who he spoke to. Even when he insulted someone, it was always with a gentleman's twist. Showing he'd been raised an educated man.

Studying him now, Inuyasha could see it in the way the human man carried himself. Even the way he held his body still in the cart; a relaxed air about him that boasted a confidence only the educated and attractive of the world ever seemed to possess. Clearly knowing he was valuable. That he was intelligent. And therefore not threatened by the likes of the cart driver who had so adamantly attempted to put him back in his place.

It was admirable.

Hell, at the very least it meant Miroku seemed to go through all this strife with one hell of a lot less stress and strain than most.

Then again…

Glancing down at Miroku's hand, covered, as always, by fabric and a discrete chain of beads, Inuyasha was reminded that the man carried more than his fair share of burdens. He'd lost just as much as Inuyasha, in his own way; his grandfather and his father both, along with his way of life and his home. Cursed by Naraku for rebelling during the Great Revolution.

Inuyasha looked down at the floor of the cart.

Indeed, they all had their scars and their secrets and their burdens to bear.

Just at that moment, the wheels of the cart again dipped down into a pothole, and Inuyasha went flying as his face connected with a sting against the wood floor. A cramp began in his left shoulder, and he felt a twinge in his back too. His wrists more than just a little raw chafing against the ropes binding his hands behind his back.

All very human feelings; aches and pains that would be non-existent were the diamond shard no longer around his neck.

It should have given him a better appreciation of the humans around him…but all it did was piss him off. "Can you at least _attempt_ to go around the potholes once in a while?" He snapped at the driver. "I get that you're apparently too stupid to realize this is a big fucking road, but you can't be blind too."

The driver didn't say anything. Instead, he simply showed his ears and eyes were working just fine by hearing what Inuyasha said and in response veering purposefully over the next pothole, sending the two slaves again crashing to the ground in a heap of curses and foul oaths. After that, all three men remained quiet for the duration of the trip, the driver because talking to the slaves made him nervous, and Miroku and Inuyasha because they had suddenly lost all desire to speak, knowing anything they said now would only bring them misery in the end.


	3. Chapter Three

**Author's Notes: **_Hello everyone! I realize these first few chapters are coming out fast and furious, but that's just mostly because I'd already outlined the first several in my head before starting to publish them on the site. They'll probably slow down to a normal pace in fairly short order, but I always feel like the first few chapters should come out close together to really get the story off to a good start. One of my biggest pet peeves is always a story that has an amazing first chapter or two, and then I have to wait weeks for the next update. There just isn't enough momentum yet to make things worth the wait; or at least that's how I feel._

_But off the soap box, and down to business!_

_This chapter has the first "big moment" for everyone; Kagome and Inuyasha – ahem – see each other for the first time. And as always with them, it's not a smooth first encounter. But then again, where would the fun be if it was, right? That's at least how I see it._

_Remember, romance won't just pop up right away either. This is a couple that will have to really learn to understand and appreciate one another, especially that will be true in this story, where they're coming from such opposite situations. (Of course they share similarities too, but as people, we always tend to notice the differences first, and they're no different.)_

_So then…many, many heartfelt thanks for the response I've already received for this story. It's absolutely made my day reading all of your reviews. I look forward to hearing from you all again, and I hope the story overall continues to please. _

_Blessings, everyone, and enjoy!_

_

* * *

_

Title: In Search of Eden

Author: dolphingirl0113

Chapter Two

Rating: M - Violence, Language, and Sexual Situations

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. And any similarities to other existing stories is entirely unintentional and coincidental. This story is based originally on an earlier work, titled 'Impossible Dreams', and that work, like this one, belongs to me. Please do not plagiarize.

* * *

Generally speaking, Kagome Higurashi loved thunder storms.

As a child, she'd always danced outside for hours until her mother would finally force her back inside. Scolding her and reminding her of the dangers of lightening and of catching a chill in the rain.

But today the thunder sounded ominous; more like a warning. Though warning her of what, exactly, she didn't know.

Standing in the middle of a tall field of wheat just waiting to be ploughed down for the fall, Kagome looked up at the angry sky. A hand shielded her eyes as the rain started to fall in earnest, and she felt a gust of wind whip through her hair and press her damp dress against her body.

Behind her, someone was calling her name, but she didn't even turn to acknowledge the voice she knew belonged to her father. Knowing he was probably worried, but not particularly caring. Figuring he could stand a little time to worry and feel guilty about their fight. It was the least he deserved.

And besides, Kagome wasn't ready to face him just yet.

She couldn't bear to see those cold, heartless eyes of his any more. He no longer had the eyes of the father who'd carried her on his shoulders as a child. The man who had loved sneaking up on her mother and surprising her with flowers he'd pick on the way home from working all day in the fields.

He'd changed; and no matter how much hope Kagome had held out over the years that her father would some day return to her, she now understood he never would. That man had died on the same day as her mother all those years ago. And the man she now lived with was a stranger. A cold-hearted stranger who had no trouble buying and selling slaves for profit; who could whip a man for disobedience without even blinking an eye.

Shivering even though the air was thick and warm, Kagome fought back tears as she again recalled their fight.

Taro Higurashi had told her a week ago to expect new slaves for the estate; had explained he'd purchased them at the auction. She'd hardly spoken to him since that time, furious that he'd broken a promise he'd made to her to buy no more slaves for their estate. The days had been long and full of tension as father and daughter had done everything in their power to ignore one another. And finally they'd had to face reality as Taro had announced today the slaves would be arriving.

Like a chord strung too tight, the tension between them had snapped, and an ugly fight had erupted. Their shouts heard all the way out in the slave quarters as heads had poked out of windows and people had peered through cracked doors to see what was causing such a stir.

It was no mystery that Lord Higurashi and his willful daughter were often at odds with one another; but up until today, they had at least been discrete when they disagreed.

No more.

With tears in her eyes, Kagome had accused her father of betraying her mother. Had called him a monster. And when he'd insisted he'd done all of it years ago to save her, she'd beat him with balled up fists and proclaimed she would have rather died than live the life she had now.

Taro had looked like he might strike his daughter, and Kagome had wondered if perhaps she'd finally pushed him too far, but in the end he'd gathered his emotions behind that infuriatingly cold mask of his and simply ordered her to stay in her room for the afternoon. Presumably to keep her out of the way while the new slaves were brought in and settled in their quarters.

Kagome snorted at the thought.

As if locking her upstairs would solve anything; it didn't change the fact that he'd betrayed her for the last time.

"He _promised_ me," she whispered in despair now. The wind carrying her voice away.

And like a fool, she had believed that promise.

Sango, her only friend, had told her this would eventually happen. Had warned Kagome that her father was no longer a man to be trusted, and had predicted that eventually he would cross all the lines that separated cruel slave masters from decent, hardworking men.

Well damn her anyway, because she'd been right.

The hurt that came with such a reality had been enough to propel Kagome defiantly out the door instead of up the stairs to her room. And even as her father called out after her to come back – reminding her of the coming storm – she'd continued to run. Her legs moving as though the very hounds of hell were nipping at her heels and her salvation demanded she get away.

Maybe that wasn't so far from the truth.

Kagome had run and run and run until she could finally run no further. Acres and acres away from the main house, and far away from any slaves who would be working for the day since they had all been recalled to their quarters in preparation for the thunderstorm rolling through. And here she'd remained, in the middle of the wheat fields, trying to come to terms with her life. Trying desperately to figure out what her next move would be.

She felt like she lived her life in a fish bowl; trapped and controlled by her father. Gawked at and judged by the slaves. Neither friend nor foe to them. Simply the offspring of the man they all had come to resent.

She had absolutely no authority over anything that took place on the Shinto Estate. And what was more she had no real control over her own life. Taro kept a sharp eye on his daughter at all times, and in the spirit of protecting her justified the way he kept her locked up in the mansion most of the day and never allowed her to visit other estates or form any friendships of her own.

It was enough to drive a young woman mad.

Thunder boomed overhead, and Kagome looked up again at the sky and felt rain pelt her face even as she again heard her father calling for her. Other voices were now joining his; slaves undoubtedly commanded to find her and bring her back.

That caused her to feel guilty, and Kagome considered returning so that no one would get into unnecessary trouble because of her. Except the new slaves would be arriving, and she wasn't sure she could bear to see it. Not because her father had commanded her to stay away, but because it would be literally the living proof of his betrayal of her trust.

She never got involved with the slaves; it was her own small justification for not doing more to try and free them. Thinking that at least she didn't try and _add _to their suffering. But her inaction hadn't exactly earned her favors either.

They neither hated nor loved her. She was just another entity to them. And while she never personally commanded them to do anything, she also never really had stepped out of her comfort zone to help them either, out of fear of her father. Fear…and that last small bit of hope that he would change at any moment, and her intervention would be unnecessary.

But no more.

Kagome could no longer afford to bury her head in the sand and ignore what was going on around her. Nor could she afford to continue telling herself she was any better than her father by simply remaining silent and allowing herself to be hidden away in the mansion. Not if she wanted the ability to look herself in the mirror again with any sort of pride. Not if she wanted to think that her mother, wherever she was now, would look down and be proud of what she saw.

Still, that again begged the question: what could she actually _do_ for anyone?

Kagome was relatively helpless, as far as power went. Not only had her father successfully managed to excise just about any influence she might have once had in the household, but he also controlled all the money. Nothing was hers. Probably not even the slaves would obey her; not that she'd ever want to actually test that particular power. She had no desire to order other human beings to do her bidding.

Slowly walking back in the direction of the house, Kagome reached out a hand absently and ran her palm over the tips of the wheat. Feeling the soft little puffs at the ends of each stalk tickling her skin.

The sensation grounded her; reminded her that she at least was still alive. That was something…that even if she had about as much freedom, in her own way, as the slaves in their quarters, she still drew breath into her lungs.

It was more than many could say.

More than her own mother could say.

But how could she _use_ that in any way that would do some good? What would her mother have done in this situation?

Megumi Higurashi had been to Kagome the shining example of how a human should behave. Always kind. Always compassionate. And always subtly but firmly welded to her beliefs. Like a barnacle stuck to a rock, refusing to be pried loose. She'd never moved; never flinched. Not even when her own life was threatened. And so she'd died for those same beliefs.

Sighing, Kagome worried her lower lip between her teeth as she continued to walk.

What would Megumi have done? What _could _she have done?

"Mama…" The word was barely off her lips when lightening split the sky, and Kagome's head jerked up, her pupils dilating when faced with such a brilliant flash of white against the backdrop of an otherwise dark day. The thunder soon followed with a bellowing boom that reverberated in her chest and down to her bones. A curtain of rain completely obscuring what wasn't five feet in front of her.

Her heart raced, but not from terror.

Blind though she may have been in the rain, Kagome was sure she'd never seen things more clearly in her entire life. Confident that lightening bolt had been no accident; believing with all the furious fervor of a child who'd lost her mother too soon that the woman was still watching over her. Guiding her. Protecting her from harm.

Beneath her, her feet began to move. Her legs pedaling quickly into a run as she raced back towards the house.

Megumi had been willing to die for her belief that the events of the Great Revolution were wrong. The least Kagome could do to honor her memory was get more involved. Rebel in her own small way; hope to perhaps finally bring about change.

She didn't know what exactly she would do; she just knew she had to get involved.

"Miss Kagome!" She startled a middle-aged man who'd clearly been sent to look for her as she barreled past him on her way back to the house. Not even pausing to acknowledge him as she pressed onward. Wanting to be there when the slaves arrived. Wanting to establish herself as a presence in this world; to no longer just be an adornment against the wall letting life happen _to_ her. To instead be a part _of_ the world again.

The mansion she had called home all her life came into view; tall and proud. Three stories high with imperially sculpted white columns framing the main doors, it had once seemed warm and beautiful to her. Now it just seemed cold; everything about it too perfect. The curtains always perfectly pressed and tied back, showing just a hint of color through the impeccably polished windows.

Their windows had never used to look like that. They'd been marked and streaked like anyone else's, because the only people able to clean them had been Kagome and her mother, while her father worked the fields all day long producing the crops that gave them their living. Dishes were often left to be cleaned. The fireplace had frequently collected its fair share of ashes before it would be swept bare. And dirt was often tracked over the floor.

Now there were slaves upon slaves to clean the house from top to bottom daily, and it had almost become an obsession of Lord Higurashi's to make sure no speck of dust remained anywhere in his home.

Kagome felt like she lived in a museum.

No warmth; no spontaneity anywhere. Sometimes she almost felt as though her father sought to wipe away all the memories from his past too, and hoped the more he cleaned the house, the less he'd be haunted by memories of his wife and her disapproving eyes.

Shaking her head, Kagome forced herself back to the present moment; refusing to feel sorry for a man who had long since dug his own grave and was now forced to lie in it.

Reaching the main house just as two men were being unloaded from a cart, Kagome slipped on a sheet of water coating the lowest marble step leading up to the front door. Throwing out her arms, she assumed she'd hit the ground. Instead, her body slammed into one of the slaves, and before she even had time to see what was going on, the pair tumbled with _him _hitting the ground instead of her.

"Goddamn it all to fucking hell!" A male voice hollered in her ear. Clearly sounding royally pissed off.

Horrified, Kagome abruptly leapt back, gasping for air as that sprint from the fields finally caught up with her lungs. She could hardly get enough oxygen to stand, let alone speak, and for a moment all she could do was stare in shame as a figure on the ground struggled to get up. He seemed incredibly off balance as he continued trying to get his feet under him. Abruptly as his wealth of silver hair fell to one side Kagome realized that his hands were bound which shocked her into action. "Here, let me help you…"

"Don't touch me, wench!" The man snapped back just as her hands brushed over his powerful shoulders. That power, combined with the tone of his voice, caused Kagome to leap back again as though she'd been shocked by a bolt of lightening.

A solid hand landed on her shoulder from behind, and Kagome felt herself being shoved out of sight and out of mind as her father stepped forward and apparently decided to take matters into his own hands. "Speak that way to my daughter again, slave, and you'll earn yourself a one way ticket to-"

"Papa…please…" Kagome's voice was a bit wheezy, but at least she was now able to push words out a little easier than a moment ago. "It's…not…his fault…" Damn, but her sides ached. Pressing a hand to her ribs, Kagome leaned against one of the columns of the house and tried to force her breathing to slow.

Everyone was silent and still for a moment; tension clearly filling the space between them all as another ripple of thunder moved through the air.

Finally Kagome forced herself to move.

Forced herself to act. Knowing if she didn't, she'd just end up back in the house and removed from the realities of the world yet again. "Papa…"

"Take my daughter inside, Sango," Lord Higurashi commanded with an imperial air, and Kagome realized her friend had in fact appeared at the door with confusion written plainly across her face. She flicked her warm brown eyes over to Kagome as though to seek confirmation that this is what should happen, but Kagome just shook her head and moved to stand in front of her father.

He raised an eyebrow in silent question, placing his hands on his hips in a gesture Kagome knew meant he was losing his patience. "Go into the house, Kagome." This time his voice was laced with steel.

This was not a man who would suffer being disobeyed.

But Kagome defiantly tilted her chin back. "No." He narrowed his eyes, but she remained firm. "I'm going to show them to their quarters and help them get settled. It's the least I can do after knocking that man over."

"_That _man does _not _want your help, so you may as well go in the house where you belong…" It was the voice of the slave, still laced with venom. Still sounding thoroughly pissed off. "…_mistress_."

Clearly he meant to mock her.

But Kagome wouldn't tolerate it.

Offended, she felt her own temper flare, already fanned into an inferno from the fight she'd had with her father earlier in the afternoon. "I'm not your mistress." Spinning around, Kagome fisted her hands and planted them on her generously curved hips. "You can call me some…thing…else." Her thoughts scattered as Kagome forcibly felt rocked backwards by the hate in those amber eyes. Never having been faced with such emotion before; at least not while it was directed at her. Then again, maybe that was simply because she was never around to receive such looks. Maybe all these years she'd been fooling herself into thinking that while the slaves didn't like her, they didn't hate her either; maybe the ambivalence she'd imagined existed in her own mind really had been nothing but that: pure imagination.

Or maybe this particular man simply had an axe to grind, and it wouldn't matter who she was or what she said.

Didn't make dealing with that stare any easier.

Obviously picking up on her sudden hesitation, the scowl turned upwards in a cruel little sneer. "What would you command me to call you, I wonder?"

"What?" Kagome blinked and forced herself back into the present moment. Determined to ignore the look in those eyes. "Kagome." She stiffened her spine a bit with conviction. "That's my name, after all; you can call me Kagome." She paused as though thinking before stubbornly adding: "And that's a request, not a command, thank you very much."

She'd hoped to get some kind of reaction out of him for that. But the man just looked away without a response, his jaw tense, telling her he was probably clenching his teeth.

Again, she felt physically set back on her heels by what she saw.

Lord in heaven, was this man ever handsome! And turning to the side only allowed her to better see his profile. The almost aristocratic cut of his jaw; the perfect sculpture of his nose. Impossibly long, thick dark lashes. All that amber in his eyes offset by the most amazing wealth of silver hair she'd ever seen in her entire life.

He was a demon; she saw that instantly by the diamond shard at his neck, and that conclusion was confirmed when she saw the dog ears next. Odd that she'd not noticed them immediately, since they certainly wouldn't have existed were he just another human. Then again, she'd been a bit distracted by his eyes.

"You'll have to forgive my friend," the second slave abruptly spoke up, pure politeness in his voice as Kagome turned to notice him for the first time. "His manners are often lacking, although he means…well…"

The silver-haired demon snorted at that statement, but for some reason instead of irritated, Kagome almost had the urge to smile at the little exchange between the two of them.

What had these men seen in their lives?

Were they friends?

Kagome suddenly wanted to know; wanted to know what it was that drove those amber eyes to be so full of hate. She knew he was a slave, and that obviously brought with it plenty of pain…but Kagome had never met a slave before with such spark and fury in their eyes. It intrigued her in ways she probably shouldn't be intrigued; not if she knew what was good for her.

"I'm sure it didn't help that I knocked him to the ground just now," Kagome finally said in a soft monotone. Still staring at all that silver hair covering the man's back, since he'd so thoroughly dismissed her by turning away. Wishing he'd speak again.

Forcing herself to look away, she again took stock of the other slave. This one clearly a human; in his own way just as painfully handsome as his companion. With a pair of beautifully violet eyes set against slightly tan skin. He put her at ease, though she couldn't quite explain why. "What's your name?" She asked without thinking; a habit, really.

But before the man could open his mouth to answer, her father interrupted at last. "That is _enough_, Kagome." She could tell he was barely restraining his temper. "It's time you dried off inside and these slaves were shown to their quarters." Taro Higurashi sent a particularly hostile stare towards the demon, as though he'd done something wrong, and the thought infuriated her.

She'd been the one to knock the other man down; and God knew she had a foul temper when someone pissed her off. She'd have probably reacted the same way if she'd had to travel in a cart with her hands bound only to be knocked to the ground and then forced to suffer the humiliation of trying to get back up with everyone staring at her.

No.

As rude as he'd been, and even though he'd triggered her own anger, Kagome would never hold him responsible for what he'd said.

"Fine…I'll go inside," she said at last, figuring she'd caused enough damage for one day. But as she passed her father, she caught his gaze with hers. "But so help me, if I hear that either of those men were punished for anything that happened just now, I'll leave. And you'll _never _find me again. That's a promise."

Something moved silently in the back of her father's eyes in response to her words; something that almost looked like pain. But it was there and gone so fast Kagome decided she must have simply imagined it. Her mind and heart desperately seeking some trace of the father she'd once known and loved so dearly.

Impossible.

Foolish.

That man was dead, and she needed to stop thinking otherwise if she planned to survive in this world on her own.

Moving forward once she had a slight nod from him as his version of a promise, she slammed the door of the house behind her, nearly catching Sango's fingers in the process. "Watch it!" The woman said with an only somewhat teasing lilt to her voice. Clearly grateful her fingers had escaped unharmed.

Chagrined, Kagome shrugged and gave her longtime friend a sheepish little look. "I'm sorry; I just…I don't know what's come over me today…"

"Neither do I. You're not coming down with a fever or something, are you?" Sango moved over and instantly, by force of habit, started guiding Kagome up the stairs. "Come on; let's get you out of that wet dress and next to the fire for a while."

Her hands were strong on Kagome's back; strong and familiar. One of the few remaining links to her past that Kagome was still grateful to have. Although even seeing Sango daily caused Kagome pain.

Her friend had once been a member of the famous and respected Demon Slayers; a family that had passed down the art of slaying demons for generations, and for those same generations used their skills and gifts to keep humans safe from demons who would do them harm. They had been a wealthy family. A gifted family. And a prestigious family.

It had come as absolutely no surprise to Kagome when Sango – shortly after Naraku's Great Revolution when family after family was given the ultimatum to join him or suffer the consequences – had told her that the Demon Slayers planned to refuse Naraku. And more than that, planned to go out fighting.

They were not made to be slaves, she'd said.

And so they'd fought.

Kagome had assumed her beautiful friend had died with them, and for months secretly mourned her death…until one day Kagome had seen Sango being practically dragged down the road, her hands bound with a second rope around her neck like some kind of animal. She was being taken to her new master, and even though Kagome hadn't known at the time how the woman had survived the now infamous massacre of her family, she'd reacted instantly. It was the one time she'd begged her father for anything; literally throwing herself at Taro Higurashi's feet and weeping until he promised to give her the money she needed to buy Sango for herself.

Sango remained, to this day, the only slave Kagome herself had ever purchased; though in her own mind, she viewed it more as buying Sango's freedom. Because at least now she lived with Kagome in the house, had a comfortable bed to sleep in, and always had hot meals and clean clothes.

It was the most Kagome, at that time, had been able to do for her friend…even though Sango herself often pointed out she was still hardly a free woman.

And Kagome knew this was true.

At any time, her father could rip Sango away and sell her, if he so chose. Yet another reason why Kagome so carefully tried to remain within the bounds of what he would tolerate. Because if she infuriated him, Sango would lose her protection.

Sango knew this too; it was why she remained staunchly and firmly loyal to Kagome, no matter what was mumbled about either her or her father back in the slave quarters.

Reaching Kagome's room – the same room where they'd played together as children with their dolls – Sango guided her friend to the chair by the fire. Helping her strip out of her soaking wet dress; the chemise and shift were only damp, but that would still be enough to give the woman a cold, so Sango stripped those off her too before wrapping Kagome in a thick wool blanket and helping her sit down. Scooting the chair closer to the fire before slowly bustling around the room collecting various linens to take down for the laundry.

"You need to be careful, Kagome," she dared to say at last.

Kagome didn't even turn around to look at her as she responded. "I'm through being careful."

Sighing, Sango moved forward to stand before the chair. Her figure casting a shadow over the rest of the room with the flames of the fire at her back. "I'm serious; these are dangerous times. You need to be careful, with both your father _and _the slaves. Especially that new one. I didn't like the way he looked at you."

Like he'd wanted to murder Kagome where she stood, Sango added silently to herself.

This time Kagome didn't respond, and Sango looked down at the woman at last to see if she'd perhaps fallen asleep.

She hadn't.

Instead, she was staring up at Sango's face with a strange little smile on her face. "You're really quite beautiful, Sango," she said at last. Out of the blue. Causing the former demon exterminator to blush and look away.

"Are you sure you don't have a fever?" She reached out to touch Kagome's forehead, but the other woman grabbed her wrist to prevent her from pulling away.

"I'm just fine. Do you remember when we used to play the game where we were two warriors out to save the world?" Her cobalt blue eyes were alight with the memory. "And how I used to pretend to swing a sword at the enemy, and you'd always break out of the game to tell me I was holding the sword all wrong?" She laughed, and Sango couldn't help but laugh slightly too as she sank to her knees and looked steadily at her friend.

Finally she sighed and, without thinking, rested her head on Kagome's knee. "Where is all this coming from, hm? Why all the nostalgia, Kagome?"

"I just miss those days, that's all. And I was thinking today about how ashamed I am…of how little I've done over the years to fight to get those days back."

That brought Sango's head up with a sharp snap. "You have nothing to be ashamed of, Kagome. You were so young when it all happened. One could hardly expect a nine year old to know how to stand up to her father and tell him he was doing bad things. Besides, you'd just lost your mother too."

Kagome shot Sango a look. "One shouldn't expect an eleven year old to have the courage to face down an enemy either, you know. But you did. Why am I any different?"

"Kagome…"

"No, I mean it. I've done nothing to help anyone. I probably deserved every bit of hate I saw in that man's eyes just now."

"Don't say that."

"Why not?" Kagome sat up straighter, the blanket falling down to expose the bare skin of her shoulders as she held it across her chest. "What have I done, Sango? What have I done besides allow myself to be locked up in this house all day and all night, purposefully ignoring what my father does with the rest of the slaves on the estate?"

Sango's voice was soft as she replied. "You saved me."

Silence stretched between them momentarily as the flames crackled in the hearth, and then Kagome reached out and framed her friend's face with her hands. Tilting it up so their eyes met; smiling as she again noted just how beautiful Sango was. Feeling that pang of injustice knowing this woman couldn't enjoy that beauty. That instead she was forced to work all day long just to stay alive, when she should have been at an age where she could flirt and dance and laugh and live life to the fullest.

Long, thick brown hair was swept into a bun at the nape of her neck to keep it out of her way, but Kagome knew if Sango took out the pins, the hair would practically be touching the floor right now. Her face was pale with a pink undertone and a natural blush to her cheeks; her lips full, revealing perfect white teeth when she smiled. And she had the warmest pair of deep set brown eyes Kagome had ever seen.

"I'm sorry I ever had to save you," she finally said as she moved away and gathered the blanket around her again as it slipped down her body. "I wish none of this had ever happened."

Sango stood up and returned to cleaning the room. "There's no point in thinking like that, Kagome; it happened. It's over. We have to deal with it and choose how we live our lives now."

"You know, I've always admired your practicality," Kagome teased as she stood up and moved to one of her bedroom windows. Looking out over the vast fields that made up the Shinto Estate; currently shrouded in fog and rain. "Can you tell me something honestly?"

Not knowing what that meant, Sango continued working. Bending over and picking up a brush that had fallen on the floor as she replied. "Of course."

Kagome bit her lip. "What do the slaves _really _say about me out in the quarters when I'm not around?"

She heard Sango freeze in her movements as the room again went eerily silent, before the other woman started moving again. Taking her time responding. "Why do you ask that? What's the point in knowing the answer?"

"I just…I just need to know, Sango. Please…what do they say?" Kagome still staunchly looked out the window. Keeping her gaze staring straight ahead. Watching little rivers of water run over the outside panes of the glass.

The silence said it all.

Turning around at last, Kagome gave Sango an almost helpless little smile; something that Sango thought made the other woman look incredibly vulnerable. Standing there wrapped in that oversized blanket with those wide, still often times innocent cobalt blue eyes.

She was so fragile. So very, very fragile. And yet so strong and resilient too.

But Sango wanted to protect her; this soul-sister of hers. The only true family she had left, with her own parents and brother long dead and gone. "Kagome, I…"

"They hate me, don't they?"

"I didn't say that." But the words came out a bit too fast, and Sango knew it was a lie as surely as Kagome clearly did. "Hate's a strong word, is all."

"They hate my father."

"Yes." That statement Sango could easily agree with, and Kagome flinched, but remained standing without trying to defend him. It made Sango wonder what was worse; her parents being murdered and taken from her in an instant, or Kagome being forced to slowly watch her father morph into a monster she no longer recognized. At least in Sango's case, the memory of her parents was crystallized and perfectly preserved in her own heart and mind, never to be tainted by anything or anyone. "But...you already knew that. So why ask questions you already know the answers to?"

Kagome didn't have a good answer for that, and simply turned around again to look out the window. "Please tell me what they say. I need to know." She could be relentless when she really tried. And stubborn, too.

With a sigh, Sango gave up and sat down with a plop on the nearby canopy bed. Picking at invisible lint on her skirts while she spoke. "They don't hate you, Kagome…but they don't like you either. They think you take the easy way out, by simply doing what your father says."

Silence.

And finally: "So what would they have me do?"

"That's a tougher one to answer." Not really, but Sango didn't have the heart to be _that _honest. "I know the position you're in, Kagome; if you help too much, they'd hate you for pitying them. You don't help them at all, they'll hate you for being just like your father. There is no middle ground. Unless you're a slave, you're not one of them, and therefore they don't like you or want any part of you."

That hadn't been quite the sort of answer Kagome had expected, and she felt something plunge, hard and cold, into the pit of her stomach. "So none of the little things I've done over the years have mattered? The medicine I send with you, or the extra food?"

"Of course it matters, Kagome. It's just…"

"I know. It's complicated." And that was a fairly major understatement. Again Kagome thought of the man with those amber eyes. "Do…do you think you could do me a favor?"

"Probably. What do you need?"

Kagome turned around and looked at her friend steadily. The blue of her eyes almost looking green with streaks of orange when reflecting the flames of the fire. "Can you find out what the name of that new demon slave is?"

That she'd not expected, and Sango stiffened slightly in response. "Why do you need to know that?"

"Please, Sango…I just want to know his name."

"Stay away from him, Kagome; nothing good will come of him, I promise you that. In case you weren't paying attention that was not a good look he shot your way."

The two women regarded one another for a moment, and then Kagome's eyes softened ever so slightly into a look of kindness and vulnerability that always melted Sango's heart. This woman was, at her core, one of the kindest people she'd ever known; it was just a pity that circumstances had put her in such a no-win situation.

Walking forward, Kagome put a hand on Sango's shoulder. "Please?"

In the end, Sango swore in a fairly unladylike fashion before standing up with a barely visible nod of her head. Knowing she'd undoubtedly be regretting such a choice in the end.

* * *

Out in the slave quarters, Inuyasha was uncomfortably attempting to lay on his cot without irritating his left shoulder, which had been hurting like a son of a bitch ever since he'd fallen directly on it outside. And of course every time the joint ached or pain shot down his arm if he moved just wrong, his wince of discomfort would turn into a scowl of resentment as he'd recall how he'd come to fall flat on his face in the first place.

That _woman_.

There was no way it had been an accident; it couldn't be. She'd probably done it on purpose, wanting to embarrass him and cause him pain. Or wanting an excuse to cop a feel before 'formally' introducing herself.

He didn't believe the innocence he'd seen in her eyes, or the supposedly genuine concern as she'd tried to help him afterwards. No one was that innocent or genuine any more. She had to simply be one hell of an impressive actress.

"Kagome…"

"What's that, Inuyasha?" Miroku rolled over on his own cot across the narrow little aisle to look at his friend.

The hanyou just grunted and shifted away. "Nothing. None of your fucking business."

"Shoulder still bothering you I take it?"

"What makes you say that?"

"Just that when you're in pain you're usually a total and complete ass."

If Miroku were anyone other than Miroku, he'd have found himself being pounded into the ground for that statement. But as it was, Inuyasha just growled once, glared at his friend, and rolled onto his back with another grimace as he felt something pop suspiciously in his joint before more pain radiated out down his back and up his neck.

But stubbornly he said nothing about it. Instead staring with incredible focus at the ceiling as he started counting the boards comprising the roof. Anything to keep him distracted.

"Now what are you thinking about?"

Inuyasha growled again. "The fact that you apparently don't know how to shut up."

"Not like you have anything better to do right now than talk to me," Miroku reminded.

Not. Helping.

Sighing, Inuyasha passed a hand over his face and gave in, sitting up to look at his long-time companion. "I can't stand this any more."

"What, us? Well please, if you're going to finally kill me, do it while I'm asleep. I want to die dreaming about making love to a beautiful woman."

Inuyasha snorted. "I'll keep that in mind." Looking down the aisle at the other slaves who were all currently staunchly ignoring them, something that seemed fairly typical every new place he went, he scowled. "I just don't think I can keep doing this any more. If I have one more sanctimonious bastard look at me like I'm nothing…"

"…hate to break it to you, but you _are_ nothing at the moment, Inuyasha. As am I." Miroku said it as though it didn't bother him in the slightest, laying back and studying his fingers as he held them close to his face. "And until Naraku is dead, that isn't going to change."

"Which is why he needs to die."

"Easier said than done, as we've discovered."

Inuyasha smirked. "Don't tell me you're giving up now, monk."

His smirk was returned as Miroku flipped onto his side. "Not a chance, half-breed. I'm just pointing out the obvious." His violet eyes were drawn down to the hand covered in the beads, and the atmosphere sobered immediately. His eyes seeing into his own past, and the ruins that resided there. "I have a debt yet that needs to be paid, and a few promises to keep."

That powerful silence could have gone on forever, but after a time both men were distracted by the muttered sounds of conversation taking place further down the long hut that made up their quarters. This was one of the men's cabins…but there was a woman at the door.

Naturally, Miroku instantly straightened up and adjusted his shirt. Inuyasha just rolled his eyes and looked away.

She was quite beautiful, and with a confident gait in her steps that showed she had strength of body as well as of character. And her brown eyes were full of a fierce determination in that instant, though determination for what exactly was yet to be revealed.

However, it became more and more apparent that she was intending to speak with _them_ as she passed by everyone else who stood to greet her. To which Miroku seemed to get more excited even as Inuyasha got more annoyed.

Another woman.

Just what he needed right now.

Finally, she stopped before them both and regarded first Miroku, and then, more slowly, Inuyasha. Her gaze was measured as it rested on him, and the hanyou had the strong feeling he was being judged in that instant. "You have a problem, woman?"

She just glared back at him. "A serious one. I have to talk to you, don't I?" Well alright, so apparently she wasn't afraid to speak her mind. Inuyasha supposed he could respect that.

"I don't know," he finally replied carefully. "Do you? Have to talk to me, I mean?"

"I'm here to get your name," she said at last. Not really in the mood to bullshit. Not at all impressed by what she saw in this demon, and having a difficult time understanding what it was about him Kagome found so fascinating. "And yours," she added almost as an afterthought to the other man, who was ogling her in a way that was downright uncomfortable. As a result, she was looking at _him _as little as possible.

The demon with the amber stare just raised an eyebrow. "Yours first."

"Sango." She had nothing to hide by offering a name. "Now what's yours?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Does it really matter?"

"Yes, it does." He leaned forward and narrowed his gaze into a glare of warning. "My last four masters never learned my name. Why do you think I'll just give it to you? What do you plan to use it for?"

She probably couldn't just say it was for Kagome; that would get him even more suspicious than he already was. And yet Sango wasn't much of a liar either. "Someone simply asked me to find out."

"Someone?"

Damn, but he knew how to prod and poke until she turned black and blue. "Yes, someone."

"Who?"

"Now why should I tell you that?"

"I don't know…why should I tell you my name?"

This conversation was getting her absolutely nowhere fast, and Sango was about ready to just turn around and leave. But there was something about the way Kagome had looked at her back in the room overriding that urge and keeping her rooted in place. "Kagome asked to know," she finally said. Figuring maybe that would shock him enough to get him to just give it to her and be done with this stupid game.

"Kagome?" The demon barked out a laugh. "The master's daughter? I don't think so. She'll go right to him and tell him. That's probably why she asked."

"She and her father aren't on the best of terms. She won't tell him. I can vouch for her integrity."

Inuyasha stood up and purposefully crowded her space. "Really? And who exactly can vouch for _your_ integrity? How do I know you're not lying to me right now?"

Images of that woman danced in his mind's eye; pissing him off that he had actually taken a moment to notice the curves of her body beneath that wet dress. Knowing he never should have even looked at her in that way. Knowing such thoughts were dangerous. Distracting. Detrimental to the cause. Knowing he couldn't fall for her tricks; knowing he couldn't believe that those eyes – the most beautiful cobalt blue he'd ever seen – were anything but a lie.

She wasn't innocent.

She didn't give a fuck.

And now she wanted his name.

Fat fucking chance of that happening.

"Get out of here before I really get pissed off," he finally said.

"But Inuyasha-"

"Shut up, Miroku!"

Too late. The woman named Sango was now smiling, and Inuyasha knew she'd gotten what she came for.

Fuck!

He fully expected her to turn away and gloat about the victory. Tell him that his life was about to get really miserable. Tell him she was going to run to the master and tell him everything; figuring that's probably how she had such a cushy job working in the mansion, instead of out here in the quarters with the rest of the slaves. She probably acted as a spy for Lord Higurashi.

He waited for her to say all those things…but it never came. And when Inuyasha looked up, he was shocked to find the woman had moved closer. Uncomfortably close as she narrowed her eyes on his face. Daring him to look away.

He didn't.

"Kagome has been my friend since I was five years old. And when my family was murdered, she saved me from a fate worse than death. She begged her father to help me, humiliated herself in the process, and now puts up with a lot of shit to keep me safely where I am. I owe her my life. And yet she never makes me feel like a slave. _That_, sir, is how I can vouch for her integrity." Spinning on her heel, Sango stormed away, without even saying a word to Miroku…which seemed to disappoint him greatly as he pouted after her retreating figure.

But Inuyasha didn't care.

He was staring at the floor as he sat back down – hard – on the cot. Feeling it squeak under the impact. The image coming to him again of Kagome's blue eyes. Wondering if maybe…just maybe…

No.

She wasn't innocent.

No one was innocent any more.

If only he could find the same conviction he'd had before with those words, he'd be just fine.


	4. Chapter Four

**Author's Notes: **_Hello everyone! A little more time between the last installment and this one, but I just want to make sure each chapter is decent quality for everyone. I'm already halfway through Chapter Five, however, so that should be up on the heels of this one for all of you. Which is probably a good thing, since I know there are a few things everyone wants more of (ahem, Inuyasha and Kagome interaction)._

_Unfortunately, in this chapter there is none of that. But on the flipside, there is plenty of good development for Kagome. And I'm really, really, really trying to develop her character this time around in such a way that she's a real, flesh-and-blood human being. I feel like her situation is so complex that it requires a lot more than just an occasional little bit of attention. And more than that, I really want this story to have a solid foundation for the future plots to come._

_But never fear, as I said, Chapter Five is well on its way to being done, and that one will have plenty of Inuyasha/Kagome interaction for all of you. Plus we'll meet a few more familiar characters who will finally get their introduction as well. _

_Thanks again to everyone for your reviews! I'm trying to respond to all of you when I have time, but if I don't get a response out for each chapter, understand that is simply because it's hard to do that and write new material all at the same time. However I'll do my best to kind of do a round robin thing with everyone so that I'm able to contact everyone a few times throughout the story. I read everything you say, and your opinions all matter to me. Compliments and constructive criticism alike. _

_Alright then, onto the next chapter. Blessings, everyone!_

_

* * *

_

Title: In Search of Eden

Author: dolphingirl0113

Chapter Four

Rating: M - Violence, Language, and Sexual Situations

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. And any similarities to other existing stories is entirely unintentional and coincidental. This story is based originally on an earlier work, titled 'Impossible Dreams', and that work, like this one, belongs to me. Please do not plagiarize.

* * *

The rain remained for another three days; long after the thunder and lightening had moved on. Keeping slaves in their quarters and Kagome and her father holed up in the mansion with nothing to do but glare at and tiptoe around one another.

Taro Higuarshi was still seething over his daughter's behavior. A veritable volcano that erupted over the most ridiculous of things and at the most random moments. Leaving the slaves unfortunate enough to have duties in the house cowering in corners and praying to whatever god was paying attention to simply let them be as invisible as possible to their temperamental master.

They looked at Kagome as she passed with resentment unmistakably present in their eyes; clearly blaming her for their worsened living conditions. Word having undoubtedly spread about the fight between the master and his 'unruly' daughter.

And they weren't exactly wrong to blame her, either.

She knew it.

Saw the truth for what it was.

And that, perhaps, made Kagome feel the worst; recognizing that in trying to do good, in many ways her actions were only bringing about even worse treatment for the people she so badly wanted to help. It left her feeling helpless. Useless. Left her chafing under the restraints that seemed to chain her, body, mind, and soul, to this place and this time and this way of life. Knowing if she rebelled too much, her father just might take it out on Sango. He had already proving he was capable of taking it out on the other slaves, so it didn't require much imagination to assume the worst-case scenario was indeed possible.

Futility followed her around as dark as the clouds blackening the sky outside at that point, and her mood turned sour as the hours lengthened and still no new ideas came to mind.

It was easy to say she wanted to change the world; but doing so was apparently far more difficult than she'd really wanted to recognize at first. Forcing Kagome to admit to herself yet another reason why she'd simply gone through the motions of her own life for so many years…because forcing change was nearly impossible.

It would mean a permanent rift between herself and her father, at the very least. She understood that now. The way he'd reacted to her words and her behavior when the slaves had arrived, and subsequently the way he was acting now, told her that. Taro Higurashi was too enmeshed in this world to ever leave it.

So then…she was damned no matter what she did.

The slaves resented her for living with her father, but they also resented her for trying to help, as so far it had only brought added hardship for them in either case. Her father would hate her for speaking out against him and undermining his authority, but on the other hand Kagome wasn't sure she could look herself in the mirror if she did not.

What to do?

Mercifully, right about the end of the third day when Kagome was seriously starting to debate the necessity of building an Ark just to float away from the whole mess for a few days, the rains stopped.

Having been pacing the floor, she darted over to her window and, flinging it open, stuck her head out. Inhaling the thick, musky scent of damp earth that was everywhere. The temperature neither cold nor warm…just wet. Heavy. Leaving her feeling as though if she were to walk out into it, she might be compressed into the ground before she made it five yards.

The first smile she'd allowed in days slowly turned up the corners of her lips, and Kagome sighed. Knowing this meant at least now she could leave the house. Knowing she could again at least talk to Sango, who for the duration of the storm had stayed out in the slave quarters, per Kagome's request. Having seen her father's fits of temper, Kagome had felt that keeping her best friend out of his sight and out of his mind was the best protection she could offer for the time being, until he got over it and went back to being his more predictable surly self.

She left the window open, along with the other three in her room, all throughout that night. Waking up with the taste of dew on her tongue the following morning. A solitary ray of sunshine actually pouring into her room.

And now, instead of the sound of the rain on her roof, she heard the unmistakable sounds of the slaves at work outside. Low chatter, tools hacking the earth, hammers pounding nails in the new barn her father had designed and commissioned six months ago. And all those sounds, along with the sunshine, renewed her determination to do something…although she wasn't entirely sure what.

"Good morning, sleepy." Sango appeared in the doorway with a clean dress over her arms, and Kagome offered her dear friend a welcoming smile. Showing just how much she'd missed her.

Slipping out of bed, she moved over to touch the fabric of the beautiful mint-green gown. One she'd never seen before. "What's this all about?" She questioned, although she already suspected she knew the answer.

Sango just rolled her eyes. "I think this is your father's attempt to mend a few fences."

That stung, for some reason. "Does he really think a dress will make me forget about everything else that's been happening here of late? Make me forget the fact that he broke his promise to me by buying new slaves?" The very idea sickened her, and suddenly Kagome felt the need to scratch and claw her way out of her own skin. Strip out of her beautiful sleeping gown. Burn everything in her room. Anything to get away from all the material goods her father had bought for her over the years.

Wishing to make a statement, once and for all. Wanting him to know, finally, that he did _not _own her, and she could not be bought or placated with something as superficial as a dress.

The rage passed over her face, and then dissolved into a somewhat generalized look of futility as Kagome sighed and turned away from the dress; heading instead for her wardrobe to pull out something else. "He doesn't know me at all." Should that really have surprised her?

Putting the dress down on a nearby chair, Sango came over to help select something else. Wisely saying nothing; knowing Kagome well enough to understand that had been a rhetorical statement that didn't need a response.

In the end, Kagome slipped into a well-worn favorite of hers; a faded blue dress she'd had for years. It had once belonged to her mother. One of the few things she'd been able to rescue among all Megumi's possessions that had been discarded or given away. It was like her father couldn't bear to think of his deceased wife, and so sought to simply wipe all traces of her from existence. Erasing her presence from the mansion with every article of clothing…every scrap of cloth…everything she'd ever touched that he gave away.

When she was finished getting dressed and simply watched in the mirror as Sango brushed out her hair, Kagome suddenly turned thoughtful again. Inspiration striking at last. "Could you tell the cook that I'd like to deliver lunch for the workers today personally?"

Sango's hand stilled over her scalp. "Why on earth would you want to do that?"

"I told you…I want to start establishing myself more as a good presence for them. I want to try and change their opinion of me a bit. How can I do that if I just stay inside all day long?"

"Kagome…" Sango sighed. She'd thought her friend would have abandoned such plans; had hoped the rain would have washed away such foolishness. "What exactly do you think delivering them food will do?"

Flinching at the clearly dismissive tone of that question, Kagome still stubbornly met Sango's gaze in the mirror. "I'm tired of sitting in this house all day, Sango. Tired of watching my father treat everyone as though they are beneath him. And I'm tired of feeling, at the end of each day, like my life is completely useless."

"And you think delivering food will magically make everything better?"

Kagome blushed. "Well, no, but I thought that-"

"What is it you want, Kagome? For everyone to _like_ you? Is that what you want?"

"Sango…" Where was this aggression coming from? Up to this moment, Kagome had received nothing but support from her childhood friend. To say she was unprepared for the hostile, negative attitude would have to be an understatement; Sango could have suddenly doused her in ice water and her level of surprise wouldn't have been any less.

Seeming to come abruptly awake to what she was saying (and to whom), Sango blinked and stepped back. The brush limp in her hand.

Silence grew thick; the kind of awkward, uncomfortable silence that could suffocate its victims.

Two friends who'd never struggled with something to say suddenly had no words; and for the first time since all this began seven years ago, Kagome realized that, at the end of the day, she and her best friend stood on opposite sides of that proverbial battle line. It wasn't a realization she'd particularly wanted to make.

Slowly standing up, Kagome still kept her eyes on Sango's reflection in the mirror. "You resent me too. Just like they do." It was a statement of fact, not a question.

Sango was quick to look panicked. "No, Kagome! No. How could you possibly think that? Just because I had one moment where my mouth ran away with me suddenly you think I _resent_ you? That's unfair."

Kagome's temper flared. "And I think it's unfair of you to judge me so harshly just for wanting to help! For wanting to break out of this godforsaken prison my father keeps me in and let me try and live a little, and maybe do some good along the way. If all my ideas are so bad, then give me some new ones. Don't just throw everything out the window as if I'm stupid."

To Sango, Kagome sounded incredibly naïve, and that thought revealed itself in the slight irritation of her voice. Feeling as though her friend were behaving like a reckless fool who didn't fully understand the situation. "It's not that simple…"

"Yes it is! It _is_ that simple. I can either stay in this mansion until the day I die, or I can get outside and live. My mother-"

"Your mother is _dead_, Kagome." Sango's voice was neither harsh nor judgmental this time; it simply stung with the cold, harsh blade of the truth. And that blade cut Kagome to the quick as she flinched and abruptly sat back down in the chair with a plop.

"Now…" Sango seemed to do her best to ignore her friend's obvious distress as instead she picked up the hairbrush and again began brushing Kagome's hair. It wasn't that she enjoyed hurting Kagome's feelings – please, it was about as satisfying as kicking a puppy – but at the same time, the former Demon Exterminator had never been afraid to speak the truth when it needed to be said. And she felt her friend desperately needed a generous dose of reality to take with her morning cup of tea. "…if you want to help, then we can try and come up with a plan that makes sense. But by God, Kagome, I'll make sure you understand how dangerous this is first. Your mother is already dead, as is mine if you'll recall. They both died for their beliefs. But even if you are perfectly content with the idea of martyring yourself like they did, I'm not. I'd prefer to have you around for a long, long time. You can't leave me here alone. You're all I've got left. So you can't afford to be stupid about this."

All her life, she'd seen Sango get forcefully honest with people; that woman in a group who was never afraid to say what needed to be said. And in the past, she'd always been grateful. But it felt damn strange being on the receiving end of one of those scathing lectures right now, and honestly Kagome's emotions were too out of control for her to say a single word in response.

Instead she just stared at Sango's reflection with a mixture of hurt and awe. Stung by the truth laid out so bluntly for her to see, but also touched by the conviction she heard in her friend's voice.

Having no idea which emotion was the dominant one. Not sure what tone she wanted in her own voice when she did finally speak.

Did she instinctively want to lash back? Of course. That was a fairly human response; get hurt and then hurt others in response. Kagome was no saint. But she also felt that other side of her nature – the more compassionate side – recognizing the hidden messages in Sango's words. And that is what, in the end ruled her reaction.

Sango didn't resent her…she simply didn't want her to die.

How could Kagome fault her for that?

"Why is it so dangerous?" She finally managed to ask as Sango finished brushing her hair and proceeded to divide it into strands for a long, thick braid. Trying not to feel offended for being talked to like a toddler; instead attempting to turn this whole borderline argument into a productive chance to learn something.

Because apparently she had a lot to learn.

Apparently she'd been sheltered one hell of a lot more than she'd first realized, if she'd truly missed how much the slaves resented her all these years.

Focused on her task, Sango prayed for a bit of patience as she replied. Not wanting to stick her foot firmly in her mouth for a third consecutive time. "You have to understand, Kagome…the slaves resent you. A lot. And it's a no-win situation. It won't matter if you're suddenly kind to them or not. You already _are_ kind, but at the end of the day, you're not them. And that's what matters right now. I've told you this before."

"Yes, I think I've managed to understand that part. I'm not winning any popularity contests. But-"

"It boils down to this: they believe, if all things were equal and you had to choose between them or your father…in the end, you'd choose your father. And that would leave them out in the cold. And therefore, they cannot allow themselves to care. Because that would only lead, inevitably, to betrayal."

Kagome swallowed and tried to digest Sango's words. Clamping down on the instinctive need to be indignant and self-righteous. Trying desperately to put herself in their shoes and see the world from their eyes…which wasn't necessarily easy. She personally had never done anything wrong, in the strict sense of the word; and yet these people were judging her because of her father.

And that _was _unfair. How could it not be.

But she forced that response to the back of her mind for later; figuring she'd just take it out on some inanimate object…like a pillow or a rock she could kick around in the dirt for a while.

"There has to be some way I can help," She finally insisted with an exhausted little slump of her shoulders.

Sango laughed at that. "Why are you so stubborn?"

For the first time that morning, the two women smiled at one another as Kagome lifted her chin in that unmistakable gesture that Sango knew meant the woman was prepared for battle. "Because I just am. And it's why you like me so much. After all, if I'd not been stubborn, you'd have been hauled off to your new master seven years ago and who knows where you'd be now."

"Yeah, I seem to recall hearing stories about how you literally threw your arms around Taro's feet and promised to not let go until he gave you the money you needed." Sango's eyes softened, and she paused her handiwork on Kagome's hair to just look at her friend. "I can't lose you, Kagome. And I fear for what will happen if…if things were to get out of hand."

"Why would they get out of hand?"

"I can think of many, many reasons why." That Inuyasha for one, she added silently to herself. He was a rotten apple, as far as Sango was concerned. The man carried trouble on his shoulders like some sick mantle of pride, and she knew it would mean nothing good for Kagome in the end. True, Sango yearned to be free herself…but not without Kagome. The woman had saved her life; she owed her more loyalty than that.

Still, she knew when Kagome made up her mind to do something there was no stopping her. So at this point all Sango could really do was find a way to keep her friend as safe as she possibly could.

"So will you help me?" Kagome's voice was so sweet and sincere when she asked, and her eyes were practically glowing with hope.

Damn, but it was impossible to say no to that.

Finishing off the braid, Sango shook her head with a sigh. "Of course I will. We can start with bringing them their afternoon meal, and see how things evolve from there. But please in the future don't do anything without asking me first if it's a good idea, okay? I can at least keep an ear on what people are saying out in the slave quarters when you're not around."

Kagome beamed. "Okay." Standing up, she did one short spin as she admired her reflection in the mirror. Her figure that of a fairly well endowed woman with an hourglass shape; fitting her mother's dress perfectly. She flashed a smile at herself once through her reflection, and even giggled a little, showing that she was still, at the end of the day, only barely seventeen. A woman by any standard in their society…but a very young one. "How do I look?"

_Innocent and beautiful and far too vulnerable if you plan to take on a group of angry slaves_, Sango thought to herself. But of course she didn't say that out loud. For Kagome, she simply offered a smile and a truthful: "You're beautiful."

The compliment caused a slight flush of pleasure to redden Kagome's cheeks, and she moved with confidence toward the door. "Then let's do this." Opening the door and ushering Sango through first, she paused and shot her friend a playfully accusatory look. "And you never told me if you found out that new worker's name…"


	5. Chapter Five

**Author's Notes: **_Here it is, ladies and gentlemen! The moment you've all been waiting for! The main event! The…ahem…okay, being honest, the next chapter. And while there will be a few moments you'll all enjoy, I know overall this still is a long ways away from the warm, fuzzy, romantically satisfying chapters that will eventually come. But again, remember that they will come eventually. We simply have to build up to them first. And in the meantime, if it feels like I'm happily poking away at a sore bruise and letting you all wince…I am!_

_Not because I'm mean…but just because it takes some pain up front to appreciate the good times later. Or at least that's how I'm looking at it._

_And for those of you who responded last chapter by saying you felt incredibly frustrated for Kagome's situation – That's good! That's a good thing! That's exactly what I was going for! Because the simply reality is that we all have moments in our lives where we feel absolutely, totally, and completely useless. Where we desperately want to do good, but due to circumstances or lack of resources, we are unable to. _

_I feel, genuinely, that most people in this world are good people…they're just trapped in bad situations. Situations where no option is a good option, and sometimes all they can do is choose the lesser of two evils. That's precisely what this story is all about at this point. Good people put in bad places and situations and forced sometimes to make bad choices. Kagome would give the world to the slaves and free them all…but she can't. Not easily. Not on her own. Her father wasn't always an evil bastard, but had to make choices along the way he thought, at the time, were the best to protect his daughter. Even Inuyasha and the slaves have undoubtedly had to make choices along the way in order to survive. Sacrificing ideals and morals when they wish they didn't have to._

_And in this chapter, I'm going to push on that bruise just a little more…sorry everyone! But it'll start to get better soon – at least for our favorite couple. So stay tuned for that! And in the meantime, I hope you enjoy this next installment, and thanks again for all the wonderful reviews and comments!_

* * *

Title: In Search of Eden

Author: dolphingirl0113

Chapter Five

Rating: M - Violence, Language, and Sexual Situations

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. And any similarities to other existing stories is entirely unintentional and coincidental. This story is based originally on an earlier work, titled 'Impossible Dreams', and that work, like this one, belongs to me. Please do not plagiarize.

* * *

The rains had stopped, and just like that the slaves went back to work. And for once Inuyasha was grateful to have a hoe in his hands. The rhythmic slamming of the tool into the dirt soothing. Relishing the strain on his muscles. The way his back ached after about an hour. Letting the pain soak into his thighs, hips, knees, and calves.

It all meant he was alive.

And thank God for that.

Because at the end of the day, despite everything that had happened to him throughout his life, Inuyasha was a survivor. And while perhaps he could hardly wax poetic about loving the world around him, he could at least say with absolute certainly that he refused to die as a slave.

Which meant he had to at least live long enough to see Naraku die and his Great Revolution come to an end.

The dirt was soft after the storms, and mud was flying everywhere; but the half-demon hardly noticed when it would splatter on his face. And while other slaves would occasionally stop to rest and trade a few remarks with one another, he kept at it. Having retreated into himself the way he sometimes would do when either too overwhelmed or too exhausted or too frustrated to really handle the world around him.

The days he'd spent in that damn cabin had been a nightmare; forced to sit and stare as the other slaves stared right back at the strangers. Everyone clearly trying to size one another up and figure out where they all sat in the grand scheme of things.

It was always the same suspicion on the faces of the slaves when someone new arrived.

The same question flashing through their eyes: friend or foe?

All of them wondering if the arrival of someone new would make their own lives better…or worse.

Inuyasha was used to it; but it had been rotten luck and poor timing that meant he'd been forced to deal with the others a bit more than he'd really wanted to those first few days. Because without some form of work, they'd all been holed up in the cabin with nothing to do _but _talk to one another.

It hadn't all been pointless, of course; Inuyasha had learned a few important things about the slaves at this particular estate. For one, there were other demons here, which was actually fairly unusual since most masters tended to only want one or two demons at a time. Clearly understanding that should they ever get loose – should the diamond shards ever fail – there would be some serious trouble on their hands.

But that wasn't the case here.

Taro Higurashi was either incredibly arrogant, incredibly smart, or incredibly stupid, because Inuyasha had counted at least ten different demons since arriving, and he'd not even met all the slaves yet as there were several cabins.

Amazing.

And while each demon had his or her own attitude problems at this point, they all did agree on one thing: that they _hated _being slaves. So at least Inuyasha knew he had a few people who would support him when he really started putting his plans into action.

In fact, Inuyasha had a feeling revolution wouldn't be too hard to initiate here; Taro Higurashi had many enemies. He'd not handled himself particularly well, and to make matters worse, he'd had no qualms about buying slaves who'd once been friends and colleagues before the Great Revolution.

Again…the man was either incredibly smart or incredibly stupid. Because the idea of keeping friends close and enemies closer could only go so far before there was too much risk involved.

Still, it could only help Inuyasha, so he didn't care one way or the other. The more the slaves hated the man, the easier it would be to convince them his ideas were sound.

Cursing as a bit of mud flew into his eye, Inuyasha was abruptly pulled out of his thoughts as he dropped the hoe and rubbed at his face with already grimy hands. Only more pissed off when he actually heard laughter that he knew, instinctively, was directed at him.

Looking sharply to the left, he saw the culprit; a tall man with shiny black hair and clear blue eyes. His teeth impeccably white, despite what had undoubtedly been horrendous dental care these last seven years. Or maybe they just looked white against his naturally tan skin. Either way, the man was damn good looking, and he clearly knew it by the arrogant set of his shoulders and the ease with which he swung his own hoe into the dirt. Although currently he was leaning on that hoe with all the ease of a gentleman at a formal party, rather than a slave out tilling the earth before everything froze over for the winter.

"What's the matter, Inuyasha? Are those eyes as useless as your ears?" The man called out once he got control of his obnoxious laugh.

Inuyasha just rolled his eyes and grumbled without giving a more audible response.

Kouga was a wolf demon; full-blooded, and damn if he didn't make sure everyone on the estate knew it, too. A wolf _prince_ no less; never mind the fact that his crown was no longer valid or recognized by the new 'regime' that had taken over. It was like the man didn't know or didn't care, strutting around with all the confidence in the world. As though he still owned the land, instead of working it for his master.

And what pissed Inuyasha off the most was there was almost some small part of him that admired the man for it. For defiantly keeping such a confident attitude; for hanging onto his own individual spirit, when so many had crumbled in the name of survival.

But their personalities were perhaps too similar; two arrogant hotheads never could get along easily. And things were only made worse by the fact that they shared a cabin.

The two of them had managed to make life really miserable for their bunkmates in the place too. Even Miroku had in the end started losing his patience and taken it upon himself to get in between the two demons and send them to their respective corners to cool off.

No.

Kouga was one of the main reasons Inuyasha had been almost grateful to get back to some kind of manual labor again. Because if he couldn't pound the man's face in, then it at least did him some good to pound into the earth. Except, of course, when the earth decided to hit back by slinging mud into his eyes.

"Do you need me to take a look and make sure nothing's infected, Inuyasha?" Miroku was standing nearby, and had paused in his work temporarily.

But the hanyou just shook his head with a grunt. "No. It's fine. Just go back to work."

"And here I was hoping you'd give me an excuse to take a few minutes to rest."

"Lazy bum."

"I prefer the term pragmatic. Because I just know the limits of my own body, you see; and I also know that if I push myself too far and too fast, I'll be absolutely no good to anyone at any time. And we can't have that, now, can we?"

Inuyasha didn't respond, although as usual Miroku had managed to put a slight smile on his face when generally speaking no one else could. The man just knew him too well, and for that Inuyasha was secretly grateful. Glad that fate had dumped the man into his lap, even though at the time the last thing the dethroned prince had wanted was a companion – and a _human _companion at that.

Thank God he'd not been the one to make that choice. Because Miroku had saved his life more than once, and theirs was a bond that would never die.

For a time everyone went back to working in silence; tilling the earth. Turning up any remaining weeds and mixing the top soil so that, come spring, it would be healthy and ready for planting a new slew of crops. Others were off in the wheat fields harvesting the golden stalks of wheat, and others still were working on a new barn being built to house what would apparently be an impressive collection of horses that Taro Higuarshi had decided to purchase.

Horses.

The very thought had Inuyasha wanting to spit into the ground in disgust. That a man could see others suffering around him and think of nothing but purchasing _horses_…

But no.

Such thoughts were pointless.

Futile.

And at any rate, if Inuyasha had his way, soon enough the man would have far more important things to worry about. Because Inuyasha would _make_ Taro Higuarshi confront the world around him, whether the human man wanted to or not. Him…and his daughter.

Kagome.

Thinking again of her cobalt blue eyes caused Inuyasha to feel slightly off balance and he almost struck himself in the foot with the hoe before cursing softly and forcing himself to concentrate. Not that it was easy; seemed like the minute he started thinking about that woman, he couldn't stop.

She was an enigma to him.

Something he couldn't quite figure out.

Every other daughter of a master he'd met in the past had only ever wanted to use him. Toy with him. Play with him; knowing that she owned him. Had sought to humiliate him and force him to do whatever she wanted, which meant in his life Inuyasha had been forced to do more than a few things he was ashamed to admit to in the light of day. He was a handsome man; a magnet for bored master's daughters who thought they were attracted to danger and trouble.

It always spelled misery for him. And it was why, when he'd met the daughter, he'd instantly sought to put as much space and distance between them as possible. Why he'd thrown up the walls and put up the thorn bushes and made damn sure she knew she was _not_ welcome anywhere near him.

Except she'd not done what he'd expected; she'd not shoved her way in anyway, the way most did.

She'd backed off.

She'd spoken to him almost like…almost like she saw him as an equal. Not as a slave. And while he still had a hard time believing the innocence he'd seen in her eyes was real, he had to admit there was something compelling about the fact that Sango, the human slave who was Kagome's companion, spoke so highly of her. Hell, even the other slaves were hard pressed to say anything _bad_ about the woman.

They didn't necessarily _like_ her, of course…but they didn't hate her, either. And that in and of itself was an anomaly the likes of which Inuyasha had never seen before, on any of the estates he'd been to in the last seven years.

Masters and their families were all the same.

That was the rule he'd come to live by.

And because they were all the same, he hated all of them without question. Without thought. Knowing that was just the way it had to be. So then…what did he do with Kagome Higuarshi? Her father was a total bastard…and yet she was not.

He couldn't figure her out.

And the rains hadn't helped, either; stuck inside, he'd had nothing better to do than think, and he'd been surprised to discover just how often his thoughts had strayed to the ebony-haired beauty he knew was residing in the mansion nearby. Not that he'd told anyone about such thoughts. Miroku was the only one he might tell, and the man had been too busy making new friends to really pay much attention anyway.

That was just like the former monk; he was always the likeable one. The charmer. His genuine smile and his beautiful violet eyes always winning over the hearts of the ladies and the respect of the men.

An asset, to be sure…but it always secretly brought out an envious streak in Inuyasha. Wishing he could for once be that at ease in a crowd of people. But instead he was nervous and temperamental and edgy, and it was no wonder as a result people gave him a wide berth as they passed and the only one who dared speak to him was an arrogant wolf demon who sought to put the lowly 'dog' in his place.

Feeling the anger coming on again, Inuyasha proceeded to hack away at the dirt once more. Determined to dig himself a hole all the way to the center of the earth at the rate he was going. Only stopping when he heard some of the whispers around him become more than just hushed conversation. Instead there was almost an edgy excitement in the air; or if not excitement, than wariness. Perhaps even fear.

Stopping what he was doing, Inuyasha turned to look around and see what the cause of the trouble was…and blinked a few times in surprise when he saw, of all people, Kagome Higurashi coming towards them with Sango at her side. The two women pulling a cart behind them laden with what appeared to be loaves of bread and slices of cheese and meat.

Even with his dampened senses, Inuyasha could smell the bread, and felt a demanding growl just below his belly button where his stomach reminded him that he'd not eaten for at least a day now. Not since the cabin had run out of its food supply and he'd been too stubborn to go to the house to get more like the other slaves had done. Refusing to do what he literally saw as begging for bread, even though both Miroku and Kouga (not that he gave a fuck about the latter's opinion) told him he was a fool and cutting off his nose simply to spite his face.

Whatever.

It was the principle of the thing.

But right now, seeing all that food, he felt his mouth water, and it was all he could do to clamp down on an instinctive need to rush forward. Seeing the other slaves around him doing the same thing even as the two women drew closer, Kagome looking nervous, while Sango just looked downright uncomfortable and displeased with something. A scowl on her face as though daring others to do something she wouldn't like. Though what that was, exactly, he couldn't exactly say. Women always looked pissed off as far as he was concerned, so he was hardly the man to try and interpret any hidden messages at present.

The sound of the cart wheels abruptly stopped, and all that remained was silence as Kagome Higurashi literally stood in the center of a circle of slaves; the daughter of their master. And Inuyasha couldn't help but feel struck by just how vulnerable she looked in that instant. Not having realized before just how tiny a woman she was. Perhaps because her personality had been so big.

But she really was tiny.

And her pale, heart-shaped face almost seemed cherubic in its innocence when faced with the dirty, hungry faces of the men, women, and children around her. Her pretty blue dress, while obviously old and well-worn, still clean and fresh, her fingernails free of dirt and grime. Her hair combed, thick, and glossy in its braid.

She didn't belong here. That much was apparent. Not here, surrounded by slaves with hunger in their eyes, who'd not seen the inside of a true bath house in ages. Taro Higurashi might have kept his slaves cleaner and more well-fed than some masters, but they still hardly received the same treatment as his own daughter.

Kagome should have been terrified.

And yet, as a subtle breeze blew through the skirts of her dress, Inuyasha watched as her chin actually lifted slightly in pride. Her back straight. The only sign of her nerves being when he saw her hand shake as she reached behind her to pick up a loaf of bread. "I-I thought you'd all be hungry," she said at last.

Hardly a speech worth writing down and remembering, but still effective. Because her voice seemed to break the spell on them all as abruptly the slaves moved towards the cart. At first rushing in one mass of grappling hands, until Kagome's eyes widened as the mob threatened to swallow her whole. "Please…." She cleared her throat. "Please, just one at a time."

And perhaps it was the simple word 'please', a word none of them had heard in a long, long time…or maybe it was the kind, gentle tone of her voice…but either way, when Kagome spoke, the people froze. Magically readjusting themselves into a line as she slowly handed out bread, meat, and cheese to the people passing by. The slaves taking their treasures and moving away to enjoy the meal in relative peace.

No one thanked her, but she didn't seem to need thanks. She just seemed relieved that there had been no violence. And rightly so.

Beside her, Sango was still appearing very tense as her deep-set brown eyes constantly scanned the area, and Inuyasha had to admit that woman was clearly a warrior in her own right. She carried herself like one. He'd heard rumors among the others that she'd once belonged to the infamous Demon Exterminator family; and he could believe it, looking at her now. He had no doubt she could handle herself in a fight.

Not like Kagome.

God damn, but that woman was just an accident waiting to happen. And for some reason, that made him angry. Not that he gave a damn about her safety, he just…

"Aren't you going to get some food, Inuyasha?" Miroku interrupted his thoughts before they could turn violent, which was probably a good thing for everyone involved. Hell, maybe his interruption hadn't even been an accident. Maybe he'd seen the hanyou getting wound up and cut whatever tirade had been coming off at the pass.

Looking away, the hanyou surprised himself with his answer. "No." His stomach growled as though automatically protesting the response.

Miroku didn't look surprised. "Come on; I get that you want to be stubborn and make a statement, but starving yourself will hardly inspire anyone to do anything other than vote you in as the dumbest man on the planet." He looked over at Kagome and Sango, who were currently talking to Kouga of all people, and then looked back at his friend. "So what do you say? Just a little bit of bread, perhaps?"

Right at that instant, Inuyasha saw Kagome actually crack a smile at something Kouga said to her, and his temper flared. "I said no, dammit!" His voice was loud enough everyone turned to look his way, and abruptly Inuyasha found himself looking into those cobalt blue eyes that had haunted him all throughout the rain storm of the past several days. "Fuck." With all the force and self-control he could muster, Inuyasha turned himself away and sat down in the dirt with a stubborn plop.

Twenty yards away, Kagome was struggling to catch her breath after abruptly seeing the man with the amber eyes again.

What had Sango said his name was?

Inuyasha. His name was Inuyasha.

Swallowing and realizing her throat had gone abruptly dry as she did so, Kagome vaguely realized Kouga was saying something to her, and forced herself to focus again. Looking up at the wolf demon with the crystal clear blue eyes and the beautiful smile, and trying to offer him one of her own even though she was still physically feeling like she'd been punched in the gut, Kagome shook her head and actually looked away as she caught Inuyasha sneaking a glance at her over his shoulder.

She literally couldn't handle all the emotion in that glance. Especially since none of those emotions were even remotely good; or at least not _easy_. They were the kinds of emotions that could keep a person up all night long tossing and turning and worrying and dreaming restless dreams.

"…I just can't tell you how wonderful it is to see you out of that infernal house, Kagome."

Kouga's voice penetrated through the clouds marring her thoughts, and Kagome again looked at the wolf demon. The look he was giving her caused a blush to paint her cheeks red. "Thanks, Kouga…I think." He smiled a little more, and she blushed again in response.

He was quite possibly the only other slave, apart from Sango, who ever seemed genuinely happy to see her. Having arrived on the Shinto Estate about eighteen months ago; ironically the last slave to be bought by Taro Higurashi before he'd made his – now null and void, of course – promise to his daughter that he'd purchase no more. He'd come from somewhere up north, his previous master having complained of trouble keeping him in line. But Kagome had never seen an issue with the man; he had a loud personality, it was true…but thus far she'd not seen any sort of rebellious tendencies.

Of course, she was also fast coming to realize she was apparently in the dark about one hell of a lot of things that went on here at home. So what did she really know? Maybe he _did_ cause all kinds of trouble.

Not that she would care if he did. Kouga was one more bright spot in an otherwise dull existence for her here at the estate, and Kagome clung to that warmth with all the fervor of a woman who'd been horrendously neglected for years and now sought any comfort and security she could find. She never took any of his flirting seriously, of course; she chalked it up to him just being who he was. But it made her smile, nonetheless.

Except right now he was just getting in her way.

Because the man she _really _wanted to talk to was sitting with his back to her and apparently refusing to look, speak, or even acknowledge she was there, apart from those few glances he'd sent her way.

Why?

What had she done?

How could he possibly hate her so much already, when they'd barely exchanged more than a few sentences with one another? It couldn't possibly be that he was still angry about her knocking him to the ground. That had been an _accident_, for pity's sake! Any rational human being would understand that…

Sango was looking at her, and Kagome saw the disapproving frown on her friend's face. A look that caused her to stare briefly at the ground in embarrassment. Knowing the brunette thought she was being foolish and making a huge mistake by doing any of this, even if she was out here supporting her choice. She said Inuyasha was 'bad news'; that he would bring nothing but trouble. Said she should stay clear of him.

And maybe she was right.

But Kagome had apparently been locked up in her home for far too long and was now too restless and bored and frustrated to care.

She _wanted_ trouble, even though some niggling little part of her conscience was insisting she didn't really understand what 'trouble' meant. To hell with that. Maybe it was high time she found out!

Ignoring her better judgment, Kagome moved over to the cart, picked up a loaf of bread and a slab of cheese, and moved towards the man currently sitting in the dirt.

"Kagome…" Sango's cautionary voice barely reached her ears, and in the end Kagome chose to ignore it as instead she marched forward. Determined to make this man see her. Determined to make sure that if he was going to hate her, it was for reasons that made sense, and not simply because of her father.

All around her, the slaves were watching with a strange, almost reluctant kind of curiosity. As though they wished they didn't give a damn, but couldn't help themselves.

When her shadow fell across his back, Inuyasha at first didn't react.

He knew damn well who it was; no slave would smell that fresh. That clean. That…good. And did she ever smell good. A breeze chose that precise moment to whip between them, and he got a lungful of her scent. Even without his demon senses working the way they were supposed to, it was beautiful.

Not that he wanted to care.

She was a slave master's daughter; she lived in a mansion with slaves to do her bidding at every second. She had clean clothes and hot water undoubtedly drawn into a tub for her every single day. Probably even bathed in rose water, the way so many other daughters he'd met tended to do. So it shouldn't have surprised him.

The only thing that _did_ surprise him was that for some strange reason he instinctively _liked_ her scent; whereas in the past the clean smells of the master's family had done nothing but repel him.

What was so special about her, anyway?

Nothing; that was the answer he was determined to stick with, and so even as she continued to stand behind him, her shadow wavering and billowing on the ground and reminding him she was still there, Inuyasha stubbornly refused to turn around. She didn't matter. She was unimportant. That was the message he was determined to send. All the while very much aware of the fact that every other stupid idiot in the vicinity was watching them and waiting – apparently – for something important to happen.

It was a standoff.

Two people standing on opposite sides of the thin red line; and Inuyasha figured she'd have to be the one to make the first move. He refused to do it.

Except when she did finally make a move, it wasn't the one he'd expected. She didn't draw her weapon. Didn't insult him. Didn't degrade him. Rather, Kagome gingerly stepped forward, caution and nervous hesitation in every movement she made, until she was standing before him. Cradling the bread and cheese as though it were an infant in her arms as she stared down at him with what almost looked like hope in her eyes.

Hope for what?

Hope that he'd fall at her feet and decide he was okay with her being his mistress?

Never.

"Aren't you hungry?"

Again that deceptively innocent voice washed over him, and Inuyasha felt it sink into the marrow of his bones and sit there. Waiting for it to rot; for the moment when she'd reveal herself to be no different than the others he'd known. Waiting for her to prove him right.

But she didn't, and the feeling didn't come.

Still, he said nothing.

So she persisted a little more. "It's good food. Whatever you think of me, you shouldn't go hungry."

"And what makes you think I'm hungry, _mistress_?"

Kagome flinched like she'd been slapped. "Please don't call me that."

Why did that flinch actually make him feel like a first-rate jackass? In the past, Inuyasha had felt nothing but pride and victory whenever he'd made a master's daughter cry. "Whatever." She just looked too damn vulnerable. That was it. Took all the fun out of being mean when the victim looked like a kicked puppy in the corner.

Pathetic.

Yeah, that's what she was. Pathetic. The thought again buoyed his confidence, and he finally stood up and met her eye-to-eye. "I don't want your charity."

Stubbornly she refused to back down, even though his eyes pierced right through her and left her feeling naked and exposed. "It's not charity."

"What is it then?"

"It's lunch. Okay? So take it or leave it. But if you don't eat it, then it'll go to waste when it could have gone to someone else."

Inuyasha snorted. "So just give it to someone else!"

"No." Kagome stepped forward and literally shoved the bread and cheese into his arms, the physical contact between them surprising Inuyasha to the point where for a moment he actually froze in shock. "This is _your_ ration. Eat it. Throw it away. It's up to you. But then you can also explain to the others why you let it go to waste. Or you can give it away. I don't care. But it's in _your_ hands now."

Maybe the comment sounded too much like an order. Or maybe Inuyasha didn't like his personal space being crowded without permission. Maybe it brought back too many bad memories of getting pawed within an inch of his life by other women at other estates when he'd had no control or power to stop them. But whatever the reason, the hanyou felt his temper snap as he shoved the food back towards her, the force of the shove sending her and the bread and cheese toppling to the ground. "Fucking wench, I don't _want_ it, okay? And if I don't want it, I don't have to take it! It's _my_ choice!"

The impact with the ground was sudden; jarring her teeth and leaving her feeling slightly dizzy and disoriented. Momentarily, Kagome literally couldn't quite figure out why she was looking _up_ at him. But then the pain started in her butt and her lower back, radiating down into her legs, and Kagome realized exactly what had happened. The moment catching up at last.

Silence.

That's all there was it seemed for miles. Not even a bird dared to crow as it passed by on an updraft overhead.

The slaves were in shock; fear plain on their faces. Wondering what would happen to them now that the master's daughter had possibly been hurt by one of their own. Sango, for her part, was frozen in place by a mix of horror and rage. Miroku, who was standing just to her left with a piece of bread halfway to his lips, had gone slightly pale, and Kouga had his lips pursed together.

But still no one moved. Not yet.

It had simply all happened too fast.

From his vantage point, Inuyasha was waiting. Waiting for the other shoe to fall; for the anger. The rage. The screams. The crocodile tears. Counting down the seconds until Kagome leapt to her feet and ran off crying to daddy that the mean slave had knocked her to the ground and deserved to be punished. So sure of himself and of her reaction to what he'd done that he simply smirked down at her as though he'd won some kind of victory.

And still Kagome said and did nothing.

The seconds turned into moments, and suddenly Inuyasha felt the surety of his smirk falter. His expression morphing into something a bit more perplexed and lost.

Right about then the others seemed to catch up, and Sango's angry, self-righteous yell pierced the silence. "How _dare_ you touch her like that!" Marching over, without preamble Sango's fist connected with his face in a solid punch, and Inuyasha staggered back with a hand to his cheek. But by now he was so confused he couldn't seem to muster a response. Still staring at Kagome…who continued to stare at him.

She was trembling. Her body shaking as though the very earth beneath her was moving. Unable to truly comprehend the amount of hatred, pain, and anger she'd seen in his eyes. All emotions directed at _her_. And yet not at her either. Directed at someone else. Someone or something he could no longer see or touch. Perhaps even a long line of someones who'd done him wrong, all suddenly seeming to take shape in her body.

Good God…what kind of life had this man known?

"Sango…don't…" Her voice was soft; barely audible. And yet somehow everyone heard, and it was no longer just Sango reacting.

Other slaves rushed forward and tried to help her to her feet; clearly afraid that she'd tell her father and then they'd all be in trouble. And Kagome allowed them to help, if only because she had a feeling she might not have been able to do it on her own. All the life having drained out of her legs.

Even once she was on her feet, she staggered back; and it was Kouga who came up behind her as a solid wall of support. His hands on her arms holding her steady even as his voice flowed over her head, clearly directed at Inuyasha. "Are you mad? All she wanted to do was help, you jackass! And your response was to shove her to the ground?"

Inuyasha blinked; his eyes still locked with Kagome's. "I…" What to say when there were no words?

On instinct, his eyes darted over to Miroku, and found no comfort there. The man's violet eyes narrowed in disapproval, his mouth pressed together in a thin line of dismay. He said nothing, either, and that was almost the worst reality of all. Because when Miroku said nothing that usually meant something was horribly wrong.

"What is going on here?" Taro Higurashi's voice boomed over the fields, and all the slaves jumped as though having been caught stealing from the henhouse. Even though it was clearly obvious what they were doing – and that they were doing nothing wrong by taking their usual lunch break – still terrified that somehow they would get into trouble for what had happened. All eyes swinging around to Kagome…but saying nothing.

Kagome finally looked away from Inuyasha to see her father approaching like some avenging, wrathful angel straight from Lucifer's hell. Nothing remotely heavenly about him in that instant; his still-handsome face pinched in a scowl as he practically stamped the earth with every footstep. Not seeming to care that such movements sent mud splattering all over his new gray tailored pants.

Had they been in the house, she knew those footsteps would have made one hell of a lot of noise. And absently she thought about how much work now the women in the house would have to put into those pants to get the stains out.

"Please, papa…" She tried to brush it all off as though it was nothing, but he wouldn't allow it. Coming to stand before her even as Kouga wisely stepped away. Not wanting to be in trouble for having his hands on the master's daughter. Even Sango staring fiercely at the ground as though she expected retribution at any moment.

Hands on his hips, Taro glared, first at his daughter, then at the other slaves, including the new silver-haired demon who was holding a hand to his cheek, which had started to bruise.

Suspicious.

"Don't brush me off," he snapped. "Tell me what happened."

Kagome was tired. Too tired to be polite. "Nothing!" Her tone of voice clearly taking everyone aback; practically screaming the two-syllable word as though her very existence depended on making sure everyone heard it. "Nothing happened! I came to deliver food, and I tripped. And everyone looks terrified because I'm sure they think you'll start whipping them all for my own stupid clumsiness!"

The blunt force of her words struck Taro blindly across the face; a slap wouldn't have hurt any worse. "Kagome…" Good God, what sort of man had he become that she'd truly think of him in such a way? That she would look at him with such…disgust? Hatred, even?

"And I swear, papa, if you touch one hair on any of their heads, I'll never speak to you again. They did _nothing_ wrong. It was my own clumsiness. My own stupidity." Her eyes found Inuyasha's, and defiantly she held his gaze, this time he being the one to look hesitant and nervous. "_My_ own stupidity." She reiterated that point, clearly this time meaning to make sure _he_ heard it. "But I promise, it won't happen again. I'll stay in that godforsaken house and leave everyone alone!"

Shoving at her father's chest, the man falling backwards in surprise and letting her pass, Kagome blindly ran past Inuyasha as she fiercely wiped tears from her eyes. The sight causing the hanyou to feel even worse than he already did. Feeling like the boy who'd killed the butterfly because he could, and now mourned the loss if its beauty.

"Kagome!" Without seeming to care that she was technically a slave and shouldn't speak to her mistress so informally, Sango dashed off after her best friend in concern. Taro Higurashi clearly so stunned himself he didn't say one word of reprimand or protest. Still simply staring at the place where his daughter had been thirty seconds ago. Silence again reigning supreme as the two women vanished almost as quickly and abruptly as they'd first appeared.

Finally, after a time, everyone disbursed without another word. No one looking at anyone else; simply finishing their meals and returning to their tools. Hoes once more digging into the earth. The sounds of hammers on the new barn again piercing the air. And Taro Higurashi himself simply fading away as though he'd never been; for once saying nothing to anyone.

In the end, Inuyasha found himself where he'd begun: alone with his thoughts. Only this time he found no comfort in the sanctuary of his own mind. He only found pain and regret.

What had he done?

The look on Kagome Higurashi's face was not one he was soon likely to forget. A look of fear and abject horror; the dawning realization of innocence lost. And in that instant, he'd remembered the look on Queen Izayoi's face as Naraku had marched into their family's ancestral home and informed the royal family that King Inutaisho was dead…before throwing the murdered man's head to the ground at their feet. Izayoi had not screamed; she'd not uttered a sound. But she'd looked like Kagome had looked just now; as though realizing in that one instant that her entire world had changed forever, and despairing those changes even as she struggled to adjust.

Inuyasha had hated Naraku for it. Had hated the slave masters who'd agreed to whip and chain and enslave their own former friends and comrades for the sake of survival. And had always sworn that his cause was just and righteous, and therefore he deserved to be pissed off and angry all the time.

But now…

Looking back on it, Kagome had done nothing to him. Nothing intentional, at any rate; and even though past experiences had told him to doubt her sincerity, he'd still had no right to treat her thus. To look at her in such a way. To hate her, when in truth what he truly hated were the other daughters who'd used and abused him over the years. Except now, belatedly, he was understanding perhaps Sango had been right when she'd insisted Kagome was okay. That maybe there was a reason Kouga was kind to her, even though he had no trouble talking shit about her father Taro.

"Fuck." For the second time that day, he plopped down in the dirt and put his head in his hands. Figuring he'd just sit that way until the end of time at the rate he was going…except a hand landed, solid and heavy, on his shoulder. Forcing him back to reality. Looking up, he saw Miroku. "Save the lectures, monk. I don't want them."

Miroku said nothing; sitting down instead beside his friend. "No lectures, Inuyasha," he spoke at last. Staring straight ahead. "Just a word of advice: remember not all women are the same."

"Yeah. Thanks for that." He tried to be sarcastic, but it fell flat. Pain lancing his voice and removing any possible bite or sting. He just felt hollow.

Turning to look at him, Miroku had a masked look on his own face. One Inuyasha couldn't read. "Inuyasha…"

"Don't. I don't want any of your stupid pity."

"Fine."

They sat in silence for a time. Two friends miles apart, and yet close as could be. And then finally Inuyasha murmured: "You don't think I really hurt her, do you?"

A sad little smile crossed over Miroku's face as he looked at his long-time friend. "Physically? No. I think you hurt her a lot emotionally though." His answer, raw with honesty, clearly stung, but Miroku knew it had to be said. "You can always apologize though."

"Right. As if that will do any good."

Miroku shrugged. "It couldn't hurt. It never hurts to say you're sorry."

"And if she refuses to hear me?"

"Then she refuses to hear you."

"Right." Inuyasha had thought he wanted nothing to do with Kagome Higurashi; and yet suddenly, at the idea of her hating him as much as he'd wanted her to…he felt like he'd lost something that had never even been his in the first place.

Absently, he rubbed the bruise forming on his cheek and winced at the sting. "Damn, that Sango can punch."

At that Miroku sighed as though suddenly slipping into some beautiful dream. "I know. She was magnificent."

"Thanks a lot."

"What can I say, Inuyasha? When a beautiful woman like her enters my life…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know; I cease to exist." And yet Inuyasha was smiling slightly again, feeling some of his melancholy evaporating into the air. The memories from his past, recent and distant, again fading back into the past where they belonged…for the time being. He'd talk to her. Even if it galled him to do so, Inuyasha would apologize. He had to; or else his mother's face, he knew, would haunt him forever.

Didn't mean he liked her, of course. And he was still a bastard. He just didn't want to be the same kind of bastard as Naraku.

That was all.


	6. Chapter Six

**Author's Notes: **_Well then, I hope this is a nice little end-of-the-weekend surprise for everyone. Something to enjoy to help soothe the usual aches and pains of facing a new week (at least I have these aches and pains every Sunday night, haha!). I was just all fired up after Chapter Five. That one took me so long to write; laboring over it for days and days. Trying to strike the right tone and balance. But it also meant my muse was raring to go, and so Chapter Six just sort of tumbled out of my head and onto the pages below before I even knew what was really happening._

_It's a nice long chapter for all of you too._

_Finally, a few tender moments for our couple. Not a ton of them, mind you…but a few. So I think everyone should enjoy that. _

_And I'm relieved everyone liked Chapter Five! I was honestly quite worried, as I think I mentioned to several of you in review responses. It was a tough one to write. One that, as stated above, I had to write and rewrite several times before I felt the balance of negative and positive energy was just right. But this chapter has an overall happier tone, I think. Been listening to a lot of John Denver music these last few days, so maybe that's why. That man's voice and his lyrics always put me in a good mood overall, singing about the beauty of nature and the joys of being in love. Had to actually reign myself in a bit and not make things too much of a love fest. Haha!_

_Anyway…enjoy Chapter Six, everyone! I'm so grateful for all the positive responses so far, and look forward to hearing from you all again in the future! Blessings!_

* * *

Title: In Search of Eden

Author: dolphingirl0113

Chapter Six

Rating: M - Violence, Language, and Sexual Situations

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. And any similarities to other existing stories is entirely unintentional and coincidental. This story is based originally on an earlier work, titled 'Impossible Dreams', and that work, like this one, belongs to me. Please do not plagiarize.

* * *

"Kagome?" There was hesitance in Sango's voice as her head poked around the door. The same hesitance that had been there now for almost a week; ever since the episode with the slaves, and Kagome's somewhat botched attempt to extend an olive branch. It was almost like the brunette expected at any moment her friend would dissolve back into a flood of tears, and so treated her with kid gloves.

But Kagome just smiled with a little sigh – not a tear in sight – while putting the book she'd been reading into her lap. Personally she was grateful for the interruption; normally an avid reader, she'd been struggling to comprehend any words on the page today. "Come in." She watched as the woman appeared with a tray in her hands. Lunch, apparently. And then a slight smile appeared on her lips as she saw what was on the plate.

Bread and cheese.

Oh, the irony.

Apparently the irony wasn't lost on Sango, either; the woman was looking between the food and Kagome expectantly, as though waiting for a meltdown at any moment. But it didn't come. Kagome had cried all her tears the day it happened, and in the days since, she'd simply been wandering around the mansion in a daze. Speaking to no one. Simply lost in thought; clearly a lost soul trying desperately to find her way.

Perhaps it wasn't the most courageous thing to do. Perhaps there would be those who were now disappointed in her. Perhaps the slaves even thought she'd not really meant to bond with them in the first place, having so easily been put off. But Kagome couldn't bring herself to care.

She needed time. Time to think. To figure out what her next move would be…to decide if there should even _be_ a next move. Because right now it seemed like all she managed to succeed at was pissing everyone off and making their lives even worse.

Sango set the tray down on a table nearby, and then brought the plate with the bread and cheese over to put on Kagome's lap where she sat at the windowsill. Her cheeks were flushed as she'd just recently been outside getting water from the well, and when Kagome touched her friend's fingers, she could still feel the autumn chill on her skin. "You should sit by the fire for a few minutes. Get warm." The comment was sincere, but her heart wasn't really in it. She was speaking on automatic pilot at the moment.

Hearing that, Sango sighed and put her hands on her hips. "Really, Kagome…I told you this might happen. That things might not quite go as well as you'd like. You can't blame yourself for that. And besides, as I've said before, things could have gone a lot worse."

"I know but…but the way he looked at me, Sango. I…" Kagome shivered. "No one's ever looked at me that way before. It was almost like…like he _hated_ me."

"Are you still thinking about Inuyasha?" Sango did go and sit by the fire, but kept her eyes pinned on her friend even as she held her hands over the flames. "Kagome, forget about him. He's trouble. He hates everyone. I've spoken with the others, and he's hardly popular even among the slaves." She looked into the hearth, fire reflecting in her eyes. "And I could have killed that damn man for hurting you like that."

Kagome looked across the room, torn between gratitude for her friend's actions and guilt that Inuyasha had been punched because of her. "I've told you before that I don't think he meant for me to fall over. I'm just clumsy. Or he shoved a little harder than he meant. And I started it, if you'll recall. I'm the one who got in his face first."

"Why are you always making excuses for the bad behavior of others, Kagome? He shouldn't have done it. End of story."

"And I don't think it's that simple."

Silence stretched across the room as the friends mutually, without speaking, decided they would simply agree to disagree on the subject of Inuyasha for the time being. Kagome knew Sango was probably right; that in all actuality Inuyasha was probably a lost cause with a foul temper. But there was some small part of her that couldn't quite believe it. That couldn't quite bring herself to slap a label on him and move on.

The pain in his eyes had been too real. Too intense. Surely someone who was inherently cruel wouldn't feel pain like that, right?

And her instincts still screamed that part of the reason he'd shoved so hard was simply because he'd lost control of his temper; that her actions had, in some way, triggered that response in him. Yes, he was technically still responsible for what he did…but she didn't necessarily blame him for it. He'd clearly had a very, very hard life. A life she couldn't even begin to comprehend. And with a past like that, he probably had any number of triggers that could go off at a moment's notice.

Instead of putting her off, the more she'd thought on it in the days since their argument the more she wanted to _help_ him. The more she wanted to get inside his head and figure out how to wipe away all his troubles.

But was that really fair? Was it fair of her to demand that he tell her about his life? About whatever troubled him? To insist that he had to let her in and be his friend? Maybe…maybe after surviving so much, he'd earned the right to pick and choose who he would include in his life…and maybe she'd have to accept that she wouldn't be one of those people.

Seemed simple enough…but then why was that concept so difficult to think about? Why did the idea of him rejecting her actually cause her pain?

At least he was apparently a jackass to everyone else too. So it wasn't just her. But for Kagome, that only solidified her point; the idea that his behavior had absolutely nothing to do with what she'd done specifically, and was instead part of a much bigger problem. Part of a much bigger, gaping wound on his heart that was clearly raw and bleeding.

The compassionate part of her nature wanted to reach out and heal that wound. She had a few of her own, after all, and knew what it was like to live with them. And yet it wasn't really her place to do so…not if he didn't want to allow it.

Taking a bite of the bread, Kagome looked out her window at the autumn day just beyond the panes of glass. The sun shining; a slight mist coming off the ground from the rains of the night before. It was beautiful. All the trees in her line of sight starting to turn red and gold.

Once upon a time, this had been her favorite time of year. But these days she tended to feel like she didn't have much of a right to appreciate the beauty around her when there was so much horror in the world.

The main well for the estate was just beyond her window too, about twenty yards away, and Kagome often filled her time with sitting and watching the various slaves coming to take a drink. Sometimes she'd watch the household workers moving back and forth with buckets, clearly hard at work on some task below that required a lot of water. But at that precise moment the well sat alone.

"That man with the violet eyes…what is his name again?" Kagome wisely chose to switch topics; although Inuyasha was still somewhat involved, since it appeared he and the violet-eyed man were friends.

Sango jerked as she moved abruptly into a sitting position in her chair. "Miroku."

"Mmm. Of course." Kagome knew damn well what the man's name was, but she was fishing, and Sango was on her guard. "He certainly seems to like looking at you a lot." Here she shot Sango a speculative glance, nibbling on the edge of a cheese wedge as she did so.

The brunette had the decency to blush as she gruffly rose to her feet and brushed off her skirts. "He's a fool."

"I see." Kagome grinned. "And it's just a coincidence that you've been spending more time out with the other slaves lately?"

"Yes. I think you've got too much time on your hands and are inventing ridiculous stories."

Kagome shrugged. "Okay. If you say so." She paused, and then added, "He is a good looking sort though, isn't he?"

Something strange passed over Sango's face, and for once she actually turned away from Kagome before replying. "I honestly haven't noticed one way or another." But there was an odd note to the tone of her voice that had Kagome on alert, propelling her off the window seat and across the room.

"Sango…"

"Don't." The brunette stepped away before Kagome could put a hand on her shoulder. Still not turning around.

But she wouldn't be deterred, and in the end Kagome insisted by putting her hand more firmly on Sango's arm. "You know there'd be nothing wrong with you noticing he's attractive, right? You're a woman. You're young. You're allowed to notice these things."

Sango finally turned around, and Kagome was surprised to see moisture in the other woman's eyes. "No…I can't. I'm a slave, Kagome. I'm not just a young woman. My life isn't my own. And…and it's better not to get attached, in case…" She bit her lip. "In case I never see them again."

That was a rude awakening, and abruptly what had started innocently enough as a light topic suddenly turned very serious. "You won't be sent away, Sango. Papa would never sell you; he knows I wouldn't stand for it." Kagome was firm in her convictions. "Besides, technically _I _paid for you, even if it was with his money. And he allowed me to put my name on the sale. He has no right to sell you. You're safe."

"Oh, Kagome…" Sniffing, Sango shook her head as though yet again hearing something totally ludicrous. "It's not me I'm worried about. It's them. Any of them. I'm already far too close to Kouga; it would hurt – badly – if some day your father sold him. He's a friend now. And I promised myself, long ago, that I would _never_ allow myself to fall in love. Because that would kill me. I already lost my parents and my little brother. I can't lose anyone else." It was the main reason she cared so furiously about Kagome…because she was a woman with much love to give, and was choosing to channel it all into one person. Into the one person she knew she'd never be ripped away from, because she trusted that Kagome wouldn't allow it. But there were no other guarantees. Not in this new world. Not for her.

The stark honesty of her confession left Kagome floored; yet again feeling the very foundation of her world threatening to collapse as it desperately tried to reshape itself and adapt. Why had Sango never told her these things before? Why did it suddenly feel like her entire life was just one big lie, and she was the butt of it all? Everyone apparently doing their best to _protect_ her from the truth, when in actuality all they had managed to do was severely cripple her and render her incapable of living in the world of Naraku and his Great Revolution.

So many things she'd never known. Never understood.

"I'm so sorry, Sango." And those words seemed so very inadequate.

The taller brunette turned and gave Kagome a heartfelt, gentle smile. The smile of a protective older sister who was trying to keep the baby of the family free of care and worry by carrying it all herself. "No, Kagome…I'm sorry. You shouldn't have to hear things like that."

"Why not? Why on earth should I not know the truth? Why am I so special that I should be sheltered and protected from what really goes on in the world?" Kagome felt an odd sense of anger; a natural response to the reality that she was also being forced to acknowledge just how truly helpless she currently was. Understanding at last why so many of the slaves just looked at her token efforts of kindness as silly – as the actions of a foolish girl.

God…she _was_ a foolish girl.

Hands on her hips, it was her turn to spin away. Moving back to the window, though she wasn't really paying attention to anything going on outside. She just needed something to look at other than her friend. "You all haven't been fair to me about it. And now I feel totally useless and out of my element. I should have known all of this from the beginning." But worst of all was the nagging voice in her head insisting she should have seen it for herself. That she shouldn't have required others to point out to her just how miserable they were.

God in heaven, had her blinders really been that high and that thick? That she'd been that oblivious to the suffering of others? That blind to the world her father had created here on the estate that had once been her happy, carefree childhood home? And somehow she'd always considered herself compassionate and caring…but clearly that couldn't be so. Someone compassionate would have seen it all…right?

"And what good would it have done, Kagome?" There was desperation in Sango's usually calm, rational voice. "You so badly wanted to help me. And you did. You saved my life. I was being sold to Bankotsu; everyone knows he has a reputation as one of the coldest, cruelest slave masters the world over. You know it was done on purpose. That I was being punished for the actions of my family in rebellion against Naraku. I was going to him prepared to die. And you _saved_ me from that. Your belief that you could do good saved me from the hell I was being sent to. What good would it do for me to then tell you just how awful my life was? What purpose would it have served to tell you that no matter what you did, I would always be unhappy, because my family was dead and I had become nothing more than a piece of property?" Sango literally clasped her hands and shook them several times in exasperation. "I ask you…what _good_ would it do to make you feel worse than you already did? I knew you hadn't asked for me to be in that position. And so I didn't want to punish you for something that wasn't your fault."

It was rational.

It was sensible.

It was even possibly the kindest, most considerate thing anyone had ever said to her.

And yet Kagome couldn't stand to hear it. Not in that instant; thinking back on everything. Looking at all her memories through a new set of eyes, and hating what she saw. Seeing human suffering everywhere, while she traipsed about the mansion moping over her lonely life. It was enough to make her want to scream; clenching her teeth hard to make sure she didn't do just that. Feeling like the walls around her were closing in. Knowing she couldn't take much more before she'd lose control and do something foolish.

There was no escape.

Everyone was unhappy. Her father was a monster. Her mother was dead. And she had no one. The slaves were not her friends; they saw her as the enemy. Or if not as the enemy, then at least they saw her on the side of the enemy, which might as well have been the same thing at the end of the day. And more than that, there was nothing – _Nothing!_ – that she could do to make anything right. Instead, all that seemed to happen was the more she peeled back the layers of her life, the more pain and suffering and injustice she found.

It wasn't fair! She had her mop and broom. She was prepared to get down on all fours and scrub the hell out of this situation until she made it right. But all she was being told, apparently, was to pack up and go home, because it was pointless. The slaves wanted no part of her, because she wasn't a slave…but she wanted no part of the other slave owner families, because she wasn't like them either.

She was alone.

Completely.

And that reality was terrifying; like standing on the edge of an abyss and peering over to see nothing but black. What would happen if she just leaned forward and fell into it?

"Kagome?" Sango was again hesitant as she moved forward, and her hand was light on Kagome's shoulder. "Please…this is what I was afraid of. Please don't be angry with me."

The young woman turned around. Tears in her eyes. "How could I possibly be angry with _you_, Sango? You've done nothing wrong. You…you're the selfless one. I thought I was your friend. That I was protecting you from unnecessary pain. But now I see that you've been doing that for me all along, and I've just been a blind fool."

"No." Sango yanked Kagome into her arms. Holding her tight. "You're not a fool, Kagome. You are _not_ a fool. You see the world, and you imagine how you can make it better. I never want that to change. I never want you to change. We protect each other. Is that so wrong?"

"Do you think keeping the truth hidden from me is the right choice?"

"Maybe not. Maybe I was wrong to not tell you more of what I knew sooner." Sango sighed and pulled away at last. "But Kagome…I just wanted to help you. You have to believe me."

It took her a moment to reply; took her a moment of looking back on her life to this moment and thinking about all the moments that had been spent specifically with Sango. Both before and after the Great Revolution. Thinking about how Sango had punched Inuyasha to protect her. How she was willing to go against her fellow slaves to keep Kagome safe and secure. And she knew it was all true. "I do. I do believe you. I just wish things were different."

She seemed to be saying that a lot lately. But then again, what else _could_ she say? Her mother would have probably thought of something; her mother had always known what to say to make someone – anyone – feel better. Unfortunately, Kagome was not Megumi Higurashi. And in this instant, she felt wholly inadequate to the task.

Again she was drawn to look out the window, desperately praying for a distraction from her thoughts, and this time saw the well was no longer empty.

Silver hair covered Inuyasha's naked back as he reached in to pull out the bucket, his muscles bunching as he held the rope steady to prevent the bucket from falling back into the bottom of the well. Her mouth went dry, and Kagome licked her lips almost without realizing she was even doing so as she traced the lines of his body with hungry eyes. Feeling the physical attraction hit her with all the force of a lightening strike and leaving her weak in the knees. Unprepared for it. Unprepared for the shift in emotions within her breast. Unprepared to so abruptly see _him_ before her, after almost a week without.

She'd had so little exposure to men over the years. The Great Revolution coming long before she would have had a coming out celebration. Long before she'd been old enough for anyone to start courting. And while she knew there were many daughters on other estates who took full advantage of having an entire slew of virile young men at their disposal to do whatever they commanded, Kagome wasn't like that. Too romantic to ever give herself to someone purely for physical satisfaction. But it meant that she'd been alone in every way imaginable all her life. And while up to this moment she'd not paid much attention to that reality or her virginal status, suddenly, seeing such a handsome man with water running down his chest as he drank from the gourd in his hand about had her melting into the floor.

His naked chest, back, and arms came as a total shock to her system. Jolting her back to life, when a few moments before she'd been feeling hollow and empty inside.

The mood had shifted so abruptly she could barley keep up; one moment despairing of all hope, and the next suddenly feeling like any other seventeen year old girl would when looking at a man like Inuyasha. "Sango…when you said that you don't allow yourself to look at other men, do you mean to tell me that you _never_…you know…feel attracted to a man?" Her eyes were riveted on Inuyasha's form as she asked the question, but mercifully Sango wasn't paying attention. Going about a few mindless tasks as she tidied up the bedroom instead.

The brunette did laugh first at the question, clearly determined to keep the mood light at this point. And if she was startled by the change of pace – by the fact that they were returning to such a light topic after their close encounter with an argument – she said nothing about it. "I didn't say that. I just said I never allow it to last. There's a difference."

"You can do that? Turn off your emotions, I mean?" As she watched, Inuyasha again reached into the bucket with the gourd and pulled out a bit more water. Bringing it to his lips and then pausing, turning as though hearing something. His mouth moving as he abruptly spoke to someone, though she couldn't hear one word of what he was saying.

Behind her, Sango replied. "Well…not easily, if that's what you're asking. But with time, I find I usually can get over any physical attraction I feel."

Inuyasha appeared to be arguing now with someone just out of her sight, but Kagome thought the irritation in his eyes only made him even more handsome. Drawn to trouble as surely as most people saw trouble and ran the other direction. "And have you ever…you know…been with a man?"

That got Sango's attention, because ironically enough as close as they'd been for so many years, the two women had never really discussed sex before. It had just never really come up. There'd always, unfortunately, been too many other things going on for them to act more like typical young women and talk about more typical things. "Does it really matter?" She was blushing and looking somewhat uncomfortable now as she shifted around on her feet.

"Well, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to…I was just wondering."

Having been in the process of making Kagome's bed, Sango sighed and thought back to her past. Something she so very rarely allowed herself to do. "Yes. Once." Kagome spun around in surprise, a strange little half smile on her face that had even Sango smiling a bit. Forgetting, briefly, that she was a slave; that she had so little to be happy about any more. "His name was Iko. He was about four years older than me, with brown hair." She giggled a little and touched her own hair. "Kind of the color of mine, actually."

Kagome smiled slightly and leaned back with a little sigh against the window. "I don't recognize the name. Is he still here?"

"No." Sango went back to working on the bed. Snapping the sheets with an expert hand until there were no visible wrinkles left. "He was actually the slave of one of the few visitors your father has from time to time. They were here for about a week, as I recall. He was kind to me. And, well…one thing led to another and the night before he left, we…" She blushed, and Kagome was able to finish that thought in her own mind even as Sango shrugged her shoulders up to her ears before looking away.

It left her feeling strangely giddy and sad all at the same time. Glad that her friend had been able to know such a thing for herself, and sad that now she felt very alone in her innocent, sheltered little world. There was so much Sango knew that she couldn't even begin to comprehend. "Iko." She tried the name out on her own lips, and saw Sango smile again. "He sounds nice."

"He was."

"Did you love him?"

At that Sango actually laughed. "Heavens no. I barely knew him, if we're being honest. But…it seemed like the right moment, you know? I suppose I should have waited…but I've never felt any regret over it. I'm glad it happened the way it did."

Kagome smiled at the thought, and turned back around…but the well was again empty. Which left _her_ feeling strangely empty too.

Inuyasha.

"Why do you ask though? What brought that about? Don't tell me _you're_ attracted to Miroku." Sango was clearly trying to make a joke, although Kagome noted with a bit of secret glee that her friend seemed somewhat put out by the idea. Telling her more than Sango probably wanted her to know.

Still, she was able to put her friend at ease on that front at least. One small bit of good she could do. "No. Not at all. He's handsome…but I don't feel anything for him."

Sango took on a slightly excited little grin as she moved forward and sat on the edge of the bed, her hands on her knees. "But you like someone? Or at least you're attracted to someone? Who is it?"

As if Kagome would ever tell Sango who she'd just been having a private little fantasy about! Still, she blushed slightly and bit her lip as she looked at her friend. "It's…it's no one. Not important. Like you said, we have too much to worry about to have time for boys. We don't get to be young and innocent any more."

"Kagome…" Sango actually looked like she was pouting slightly. "That's not what I said at all. In case you've already forgotten what happened ten minutes ago, we were arguing because I said I _wanted_ you to stay young and innocent. You were right before; we should still be able to talk about these things. And anyway, I told you my story…you can tell me yours."

That had Kagome smiling. "Quid pro quo, is that how it works?"

"Yes."

"You won't like it, Sango."

The brunette smiled in encouragement. "Try me."

Again Kagome looked over her shoulder at the well, but it remained empty. The bucket and drinking gourd sitting on the lip of their own accord, waiting for someone else to come along. And then she took the plunge and blurted: "It's Inuyasha."

The encouraging smile vanished. "What?"

"You see? I said you wouldn't like it."

Sango didn't seem to hear her. "You're attracted to Inuyasha? Even after he shoved you to the ground and called you a wench?"

Kagome blushed. "Maybe." She put up her hands in a sign of surrender. "I don't want to fight about it. I can't help it. I just…I feel really…attracted to him. I didn't necessarily say I like him. I don't really know him at all. But…his eyes, Sango. They're so beautiful. Don't you think?"

Sango looked about as deadpan as a toad in that instant. "No."

"Oh, come on, you have to admit he's handsome."

One blink. That's all she got in response. And then another "No."

"Well fine, _you_ don't have to like him or find him attractive. This is me we're talking about."

"And you're still determined to get yourself killed apparently." But once again, almost against her will, Sango was smiling. "I never had you figured for a girl who'd actually enjoy getting thrown into the dirt. If I'd known that, I would have spared him and my knuckles the punch."

"Sango!" Kagome blushed, and the two friends giggled simultaneously.

It was the nature of caring that much about someone, Kagome thought to herself as she marveled over how they'd turned the argument yet again into something to laugh about. Recognizing it was only through love that two people could ride out a disagreement and wade successfully to the other side of the rapids to once more walk on solid ground. And she was so very grateful for that.

She wasn't alone. Her earlier thoughts hadn't quite been right.

She had Sango.

"Are you going to eat any more of that?" The former Demon Exterminator asked, indicating Kagome's plate, which was only about half finished.

Kagome looked at it too and then shook her head. "No. I haven't had much of an appetite these last few days. You can have it though. Or give it to someone else. Or whatever you'd like to do with it. I'd hate for it to go to waste."

Shrugging in that practical way of hers, Sango stood up and moved to collect the plate. "Wouldn't be the first time something got thrown away. I'll take it down to the kitchen and see if someone else wants it. Then I'd better get to work on some of your laundry. There's a certain blue dress with a massive mud stain on the back. Can't imagine how that happened." But her eyes were dancing as she took the tray away, and Kagome ran after her with a little laugh. The two women chasing one another down the stairs and acting so unlike a slave and her mistress that everyone else paused to stare.

Laughter was such a rare thing in that cold, dreary house that it almost seemed harsh compared to the usual silence.

"I'll clean the dress," Kagome finally insisted once they were in the kitchen which, as always, was boiling hot thanks to the fire burning in the black cast-iron stove. In the summer it was a nightmare, but in the winter it was everyone's favorite place to be. At present, however, it was empty.

"You most certainly will not. That's all I need, for your father to see you working while I'm sitting around twiddling my fingers."

"I didn't say you'd have time to twiddle your fingers." Kagome batted her eyes innocently. "I said I'd clean that one dress. There are plenty of other clothes to wash."

This time it was Sango to chase Kagome as the two friends darted out of the house, still laughing as they went. Headed around back where all the baskets were kept holding the dirty linens. Kagome knew that her friend was in far better physical condition than she was, and so used strategic tactics to keep out of arm's reach; darting left and right rapidly. Ducking behind bushes and trees as she went. Even going so far, occasionally, as to use another worker as a shield, unintentionally drawing them into the playful game…although it generally left smiles on the faces of the slaves involved.

It was clearly refreshing for everyone to see two young women acting more the way two young women should. Without care or worry; giggling about handsome young men and trading secret stories of sex and possible future love.

Scooping up one of the baskets without even checking to see if it was the correct one, Kagome headed for the well to get water, Sango hot on her heels. Only about halfway to her destination when Sango started to overtake her, causing Kagome to shriek in protest and start throwing clothes at her friend to slow her down. In response, Kagome found a pair of her father's pants landing squarely on her head and tangling her up enough that she almost fell over.

Flushed with joy, she didn't even notice anyone else approaching until abruptly a strong hand reached into her basket and pulled out a long, heavy cloak. "I had to come to your defense," Kouga declared, his eyes twinkling with amusement as he hefted the balled up fabric in Sango's direction.

The other woman shrieked. "That's no fair at all, Kouga! No interfering! This is between me and the girl." She tried her best to sound stern. Ominous. But her eyes were laughing even if she was keeping her mouth pressed into a mock-thin line of dismay.

"Allow me to assist you," a second male voice offered, and Miroku appeared at Sango's side, reaching into her basket and pulling out what looked suspiciously like a big wad of bed sheets. For her part, Sango was just staring at him in surprise, a faint blush now on her own cheeks.

Kagome grinned and called out: "Oh right, not handsome at all!"

Sango shot Kagome a look that promised retribution just before the ball of fabric came sailing through the air, and Kouga leapt in front of her to take the brunt of the impact. "Never fear, Kagome…you're safe with me," he valiantly promised.

She giggled. "I'm so glad you'd take a hit like that for me."

"I'm just sad this is the only thing I can do for you that involves bed sheets."

Kagome gaped. It was quite possibly the most blatantly sexual innuendo he'd sent her way yet, and she stammered and blushed over it, but in the end a smile returned to her face once she managed to pick her jaw up off the ground. "Kouga…really…" Thinking back on her conversation with Sango, she briefly looked at Kouga as a woman might look at and evaluate a man. Something she'd never really done before. Having to admit that he was indeed incredibly handsome in his own way; with a jaw line that screamed masculinity at every angle and curve. And he was kind to her. Genuinely seemed to care about her as a friend, at the very least.

What would it be like to be with him in _that_ way? There could be worse men to choose for her first time, right?

"Are you all trying to get us into trouble?" Inuyasha's voice pierced the silence that had fallen on the group, and Kagome instantly looked towards him, all thoughts of Kouga completely forgotten. He was still without a shirt, and up close his muscles were even more impressive.

She turned beet red.

For his part, Inuyasha was trying desperately to comprehend what he was seeing; Miroku and Kouga, along with Sango and Kagome, all laughing even as what appeared to be dirty laundry was literally strewn out everywhere on the ground. It was such a ridiculous scene that he was completely taken off guard by it. Not knowing where to begin coming up with an explanation for how it happened. And more than that, Kagome's presence was abruptly causing him to draw a serious mental blank. Words refusing to form in his brain, let alone transform themselves magically into coherent sentences he could speak out loud.

He'd been thinking for days now about how exactly to try and approach the woman to tell her he was sorry for what he'd said and done; having serious trouble sleeping at night, his brain muddled by a guilty conscience. But none of the possible scenarios he'd come up with in his own head even remotely came close to what he was faced with right now. Because Kagome was here, and she was staring at him in a way that had his own heart beating a little faster in his chest…and he hadn't the foggiest idea what would make sense.

"We were just having a little fun, Inuyasha," Miroku finally managed to say, as usual the first one to find his voice no matter the situation. "You don't have to always be the wet blanket for everything."

That made him feel like a total ass, and Inuyasha again had to fight the urge to lose his temper, which generally speaking is what he tended to do when feeling guilty about something. Not because he had a hard time admitting to himself when he was wrong…but because he could never come up with a good way to make a situation right. "We're slaves, Miroku. We don't have fun." And in the end, as usual, his temper got the better of him despite his resolve to control it.

His eyes raked over Kouga in disgust. "You should know better too, after seven of years getting your face shoved in the dirt. Or maybe you'll tell me next you just like that sort of thing."

To his credit, the wolf-man just stiffened his spine and raised one haughty eyebrow to the sky. "I can make my own decisions, mutt face. You don't own me."

"No…but _her_ father does." A pointed jab of his finger indicated exactly which 'her' he was referring to. And just like that, the remaining bits of the happy bubble completely burst.

Kagome almost felt like she'd been caught doing something dirty, even though it had all been perfectly innocent fun, and suddenly wished she'd never said out loud that she found Inuyasha remotely attractive. How could she? Maybe Sango was right, and he was cruel simply because that was his nature. Maybe she was still too naïve and too much of a ne'er-do-well to see the truth for what it was. "Thank you so much for reminding us all of that, Inuyasha," she finally found her voice. Stiffening her spine as she bent over and picked up the blue dress that had started this whole mess with as much dignity as she could muster. Snapping the fabric as she flounced passed him in the direction of the well.

He said nothing.

What could he say?

In the meantime everyone else stared at him as though he were guilty of some unspeakable crime, although it took at least thirty seconds for Miroku to finally step forward with a sigh and a shake of his head. "If _that_ was the big apology you've been losing sleep over these last several days, my friend? Then we seriously need to have a conversation about your social skills."

"Huh. I have none. You know this." But Inuyasha's heart wasn't in the banter, his eyes drifting off in the direction Kagome had gone. Against his better judgment wanting to follow her. Unable to believe that, yet again, he'd so thoroughly managed to muck up the situation with his foul temper and his act-first-think-later behavior.

For so long, his very survival had revolved around the fight-or-flight response to everything around him. Choosing whether to hunker down and bear what came his way, run away as fast as he could, or stand his ground and fight back. But when dealing with Kagome Higurashi – or any of the slaves on this estate, for that matter – fight or flight had no real place. Because the usual and customary options simply didn't seem to fit.

So what did that leave him with?

He'd long since forgotten how to socialize properly; and any lessons his mother had given him on kindness and compassion he'd had to stuff away into a corner of himself where it couldn't haunt him and make him feel guilty every time he had to betray Izayoi's trust and faith in his kind heart. Because this new world was not a world for compassionate people. It was a world for hard, harsh men; where those who could transform themselves into iron survived, and those who clung to idealistic values crumpled and found themselves dumped on the side of the road.

It was the truth.

And yet why did that offer him no comfort just now? Why did he feel so naked and exposed under the scrutinizing stares of the people around him, and why did the breeze leave him feeling so bitterly cold, frustrated, and alone?

Seeing the look on his friend's face as he continued staring after the retreating woman, Miroku just gave him a knowing smile. "Get it over with already, Inuyasha. You're a pain in the ass to live with right now."

The hanyou didn't have to clarify what Miroku wanted him to do. And, if he were being honest with himself, he really did want to try and make things right with the woman. Didn't mean he liked her…he just figured if he was going to hate her, it might as well be for the flaws he discovered she _did_ have, rather than the flaws he projected onto her from other bad experiences.

Grunting again, Inuyasha said nothing, but did in fact turn around and head off in the direction Kagome had gone. Brushing by Sango and her steely glare while fighting back the childish urge to stick his tongue in her direction. Honestly…how sanctimonious could that woman be? The bruise was mercifully gone from his cheek by now, but he still could easily recall the sting from her fist that day.

Women!

It was relatively easy to figure out Kagome's destination, and Inuyasha abruptly found himself back out at the well where he'd been only a short time ago. He'd taken a water break when it wasn't his turn, and he'd gotten into royal trouble for it…but he'd not cared. It was hard work in the fields day in and day out, and without his added demon strength and stamina, he often found himself easily dehydrated…like a human would be.

Curse that damned diamond shard! If he had it to do all over again, he would have fought, tooth and nail, to prevent them from placing it on his neck. Even if it wouldn't have done any good (they'd managed to get one on Sesshoumaru, and that man was a full-fledged, powerful demon in his own right), at least Inuyasha could have known he'd tried to stop it. Instead, he'd just sat back and let it happen, hoping against hope that his compliance would spare his mother and keep what remained of his family intact.

Unfortunately he'd been wrong.

Coming around the corner while his hand absently touched the shard on his chest, he saw Kagome attempting to haul up a bucket of water from the well and paused to observe her silently. Watching the woman as she threw all her strength into yanking on the rope…clearly also trying to work out a bit of frustration with some physical exertion, since her motions were hardly graceful, but rather jerky and inconsistent. Huh…he knew what that looked like, because he did it so often himself. Except on her, the action almost looked…adorable.

Not that he'd ever admit aloud to having such a thought about a slave master's daughter. They weren't adorable. They were catty, and cruel, and cold-hearted, and…

"Are you going to keep standing there staring, or will you come over here and help me?"

Her voice penetrated through his thoughts, banishing all other memories to the far corners of his mind to be looked at and examined later. Out of habit, Inuyasha stepped forward the final few feet and took the rope, forgetting she'd asked a question and not given a command, hauling the bucket up with an ease that clearly irritated her. And that made him feel a little better. "Not used to manual labor, I see."

She made a sound in the back of her throat that sounded suspiciously like an attempt at a growl. "No. I'm not. And spare me the remarks about being a pampered little princess, okay? I'm not in the mood."

Her feisty temper should have sparked an angry response from him, but instead he just found himself feeling amused. "And here I thought you were such a nice little girl," he said even as she slipped under his arm and pulled the bucket of water off the hook on the rope. Scooting away from him as fast as she possibly could to minimize contact, her eyes barely looking at him as she did so. And when they did, he shrugged to emphasize his point. "That's what everyone else says, anyway."

Hauling the bucket over to a nearby trough used for washing, having to walk with more of a waddle than a normal stride given the weight of the water, she dumped it in before looking at him. "I _am_ a nice woman…except when I'm around you, apparently. You just bring out the worst in me. Happy now?" Moving back to the well, she reattached the bucket to the hook and lowered it down; hearing it land in the water below with a satisfying plunk. Mentally picturing Inuyasha plunking into the water instead and feeling a little better at the thought.

This time she didn't even have to ask for help; he just automatically took the rope and hauled the bucket back up. She said nothing, as again, once he was finished, she slipped under his arm and grabbed the bucket into her hands to take over to the trough. Struggling with the weight of the bucket as the water sloshed onto her skirts, leaving her wanting to curse in frustration as the wet fabric plastered itself to her legs.

And the sight made Inuyasha actually wanted to laugh, which surprised him. When was the last time he'd wanted to laugh? A real, honest to goodness laugh, without mockery or spite?

He couldn't recall, proving just how long it had truly been. But there was something about this woman right now; maybe it was the way she had to waddle when carrying that infernal bucket and was clearly too stubborn to ask for more help, or maybe it was the fact that she practically had smoke pouring out of her ears, or maybe it was simply that she was talking to him this way in spite of the way he'd treated her – without any fear – that had him so revved up. Regardless, Inuyasha had to admit he was almost…enjoying himself for this brief moment in time. She was nothing if not a surprise to him, that was for sure.

"Kagome…" He said her name, out loud, and she froze. It was the first time he'd said her real name without her having to poke and prod him with a sharp stick first. And moreover, there was no added tone or hint of mockery to be heard. It was almost like he was speaking to her as an equal. Something he'd not done in a long, long time…certainly not with a master's daughter.

And then he lost his nerve.

Nothing more came out.

Turning around, Kagome looked at him, and saw the hesitation on his face. The insecurity. The uncertainty. And her anger vanished as though it had never been as she moved forward and stood before him, the bucket again empty as she held it behind her back. "Yes?" She hoped the look on her face was one of encouragement.

Coughing and clearing his throat, Inuyasha looked away. Incredibly uncomfortable when in such close proximity to the innocence in those cobalt-blue eyes. Not to mention her cheeks were still flushed from her previous exertions, and it gave her a beautiful glow. A beauty that seemed to come from within.

Inuyasha was not a man who cared about superficial beauty; he'd had his fair share of that in his life already, and was fed up with it. Knowing that there was often no warmth behind a pretty face.

No…the more he looked at her, the more he recognized Kagome had that rare inner beauty so many lacked any more. The kind of inner beauty he had always seen in his mother. Except the thought brought him no comfort; instead it just angered him as he snarled and backed away. Clearly startling her. "No." He said it out loud, as though trying to slap himself back to reality. His mother was dead. Dead because of selfish men like this girl's father. She was _nothing_ like Izayoi. Nothing. "What's your game, anyway?"

Kagome blinked; that was clearly not what she'd been expecting him to say. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. What's your game? Bringing lunch to the lowly slaves like we're your little playthings. Playing in the yard. Enticing people away from their work. Do you just want to get people into trouble? Is that what you're up to? Get everyone to trust you, only to betray them in the end?"

Being around this man felt more and more like trying to ride a wild stallion, and every time Kagome started to feel comfortable in the knowledge that she'd found her seat, he nearly threw her off again. But stubbornness propelled her forward and gave her the courage to stand her ground; grabbing hold of the reigns and hanging on for dear life as she actually took a step closer and purposefully invaded his personal space. "How _dare_ you."

He looked abruptly puzzled. "What?"

"You heard me. How dare you say that to me? You're the one who followed me. I didn't ask for you to. You're such a jerk! Do you get some kind of sick joy out of trying to make me feel as low and insignificant as possible?" She narrowed her eyes. "Is that _your_ game, Inuyasha? I don't know what has happened to you in your past, but by God, I am not responsible for it. Either get over it, or leave me the hell alone. For my part, I do _not_ have to answer to you, or to anyone else for my life. Now get out of my way." There. She figured Sango would be proud of that little speech.

Moving to step around him, at the last instant Kagome felt something grip her wrist. Looking down, she realized it was his hand, and turning slightly she saw that he was looking at her with a mixture of awe and anger all rolled into one heady package. Leaving her heart pounding, though whether it was from fear or something else she couldn't quite say. All she knew was this man was so intense she feared she might spontaneously combust standing so close…and she wasn't so sure any more trying to get closer was a wise decision. He could swallow her whole, if she allowed him. That's what her instincts were screaming.

But before she could act on good sense and step away, Kagome found herself hauled closer as the man spun her around so that her body was pressed against the side of the well. Leaving her feeling strangely trapped and vulnerable, knowing if she wiggled in just the wrong direction she'd topple over into the water far below. So instead of physically fighting back, she just stayed perfectly still. Trying to figure out what he would do next.

But he did nothing.

He just stared at her; his eyes burning a hole through her body.

"I can't figure you out," he finally said, an odd note of desperation in his voice as he came nose to nose with her.

Feeling uncomfortable, Kagome tried to slip away. "That is not my problem. Now let me go."

But instead of releasing her, Inuyasha growled and grabbed her chin with his free hand. Holding her in place as he snared her gaze and held it with his intense amber eyes. "Every other woman like you I've met has only wanted one thing from me; it's what I've always expected. They want my body. They want to own me. Control me. And that's precisely what I expect of you. And that is why I want to hate you so badly; so that you can't betray me in the end, because I'll be prepared." The words were spoken harshly, but there was a raw, vulnerable honesty to them. His attempt at an apology, since the actual words 'I'm Sorry' weren't really a part of his vocabulary.

And yet that was alright, because what he'd said went so much further than hollow, meaningless words. Pieces of his past taking shape in her mind as Kagome instantly felt herself pale in horror at the idea of the things that might have been done to him. The very idea of anyone trying to take advantage of any man that way leaving her feeling sick to her stomach. "Inuyasha…"

"If you even think about pitying me, I'll hate you for that too," he spat out, still challenging her. Still for some reason daring her to morph into a nasty little harpy.

And still she refused to grant him what he wanted. Her eyes instead going soft as her hand came up and touched the side of his face. "I'm truly sorry for what happened to you, Inuyasha. For the life you've known." Her thumb brushed over his cheek, and Inuyasha thought to himself that it was quite possibly the softest touch he'd ever known in his entire life.

But what possibly shocked him the most was when he looked into her eyes he saw the beginnings of tears. She was…crying for him? For a slave? For a man who'd been so cruel to her?

Abruptly he released his hold on her. Allowing her to move away. Feeling chilled; not having realized how warm her touched made him until he lost it. And still he couldn't look away from those tears. Amazed to realize they were genuine; that there was no pity, only true, honest sadness for his life. Mourning what he had never allowed himself to mourn. Those tears threatened to unleash something in him he'd kept chained and locked away for seven years, and he found himself forcefully shoving it back under control. Knowing if he lost it now, he'd never be able to do what needed to be done.

And while he had his eyes closed and mentally had a little discussion with himself, Kagome moved closer again. Gathering her courage one final time as, without even thinking about the repercussions of what she was doing, she put her hands on his chest, stood on tiptoe, and placed a single chaste kiss on his jaw. Nothing sexual about it; rather meaning the gesture as one of comfort. The way a mother might kiss her child after a nightmare.

He trembled, and she knew that was enough. She didn't need to push him any further.

As she pulled away, her fingers accidentally brushed over the diamond shard on his chest, and she felt a slight electric shock zing through her fingers. Causing her to jolt and jump back slightly in surprise. But she chalked it up to nothing, and turned and quickly disappeared, the blue dress and the water in the trough completely forgotten as she felt the need for some time alone with her thoughts.

Rooted in place, Inuyasha could only stare.

He'd felt the shock too. First when her lips had touched his skin he'd felt the physical impact of a train barreling over his body. And then he'd felt a second shock when her fingers had touched the diamond shard at his chest.

It had been a miracle.

For one brief, beautiful instant, it had been as though the floodgates opened, the prison bars crumbled around him, and all his senses had returned. The smells…the sights…the sounds…

Looking down at the shard, Inuyasha was stunned to see a very faint, already dimming shade of pink on the very tip of the diamond. Staring at it as it faded away, along with it his enhanced demon senses. The world once more fading – both literally and figuratively – to black. And it took a full five minutes before he could comprehend what had just happened. Another fifteen to think about what it could mean for his future.

Kagome had unintentionally started to purify the black magic of the shard.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Author's ****Notes: **_Hello! __Obviously __it__'__s __been __a __while. __More __than __just __a __little __while. __And __to __all __of __you __who __sent __me __messages __asking __if __I __would __continue __with __the __story, __thank __you __for __your __patience. __There __are __moments __when __the __real __world __simply __creeps __in, __and __in __those __moments __one __has __to __stop __and __take s__tock __of __everything __that__'__s __going __on __and __take __a __few __deep __breaths._

_In the past twelve months my parent's medical practice nearly went under (tough economic times for all), my grandfather passed away after being violently ill for almost two months, I spent seven weeks performing opera in Austria, my mother had major surgery, my grandmother had hip replacement surgery, and then I was in the throes of rebuilding the medical practice once it pulled through the bad times (my day job, when not performing opera, is still as manager for their business)._

_Needless to say, I'm going to be thrilled when 2011 comes to an end. It's been a year of unspeakable lows, and glorious highs. I'm ready for a bit of normalcy now I think._

_Anyway, I'll keep these notes short. To everyone who has waited so patiently, I cannot thank you enough. The next chapter is coming close on the heels of this one; it's nearly finished. I hope you enjoy. The wheels of the plot are now officially starting to turn. It won't be long before things start to pick up and move forward for all of our favorite characters. Blessings, everyone, and enjoy!_

* * *

Title: In Search of Eden

Author: dolphingirl0113

Chapter Seven

Rating: M - Violence, Language, and Sexual Situations

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. And any similarities to other existing stories is entirely unintentional and coincidental. This story is based originally on an earlier work, titled 'Impossible Dreams', and that work, like this one, belongs to me. Please do not plagiarize.

* * *

"I am expecting company." Taro's voice echoed loudly in the otherwise silent hallway. And when he received no immediate response, he grit his teeth with irritation while staring at the black hair on the back of his daughter's head. "I'll expect _you_ to be prepared to entertain our guests, Kagome." Still she didn't move, but he saw the way her fists clenched at her sides. A telltale sign she was on the verge of losing her temper.

A ticking clock counted down the seconds between them before she finally turned to look at him with a pinched, unreadable expression on her face. "You've never expected me to entertain your _friends_ before." It was obvious by the venom with which she spoke the word 'friend' what she really thought about the men her father associated with.

He didn't even flinch. "These aren't just my friends. You'll know them too."

Kagome didn't want to be intrigued by what he said, but she couldn't completely squelch her curiosity as she raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? I have no friends left other than Sango." It was the polite way of reminding him all her former friends were either dead or enslaved. Or worse yet, they were dead _to_ her; friends who had bought into the new lifestyle of a slave owner's daughter or son. Throwing around their weight and their power at the expense of others.

Absently, she wondered if any of her former friends were the reason Inuyasha now had such a look of disgust and mistrust on his face when he looked at her. Wondered if one of her former friends had become one of the master's daughters who had used and abused him so cruelly. For her own sake, she hoped not. Kagome felt like she already carried enough guilt. But unfortunately in this new world where everything was turned upside down, anything was possible.

Kagome sighed as she finally allowed herself to think about Inuyasha.

She'd not seen him in over a week. Having left him by the side of the well and then purposefully avoided him ever since; not that she expected he would be upset about it. God knew the man never seemed pleased to see her. So Kagome determined that she was doing him a favor; or at least that's what she kept telling herself when in the dark of the night a little voice whispered 'coward' in her ear over and over again.

Maybe she was being a coward. Maybe a stronger woman would seek him out and probe a little more. Would relentlessly push until he told her everything about his life, so that she could finally understand what life was like for a slave.

Maybe…but Kagome couldn't quite bring herself to seek him out. She wasn't sure she could stand to have him look at her again with that pained, deeply wounded, almost desperate glint in his eyes. Seeing more in that look than she wanted to. Realizing in that instant what he meant when he said the daughters of his former masters had used him. Her world yet again fragmented and fractured just a little more.

That look now haunted her. He'd said nothing. Confirmed nothing. But he didn't have to; his eyes had told the whole story. And now whenever she saw a slave at work, she wondered what they had lived through. Wondered if they too had been used and abused; how often, and by whom. She even looked at Sango in that light. Knowing her friend had endured all manner of horrible torture when she'd first been captured after the slaughter of her family, but also not being privy to all of the harsh details.

Why?

Why had she never asked her friend before?

In the quiet of her room, where she couldn't hide from anything or anyone, Kagome was forced to look inward. And what she saw left her ashamed, both of herself and of the culture she now represented to them. It was no wonder, really, that they looked upon her with resentment.

"Kagome, are you listening to me?"

She blinked and rounded on her father, having momentarily forgotten he was even there. And she could tell by the irritation on his face that it annoyed him to no end being ignored. "What did you say, father?" Her voice was flat.

Taro sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Am I invisible to you now? Is that truly what we've come to?" Kagome's eyes narrowed into a glare, and he cleared his throat. Probably realizing in hindsight the can of worms he was potentially opening with that remark and wisely choosing to back away from it. "I was _saying_ that our guests are the Nasaki family, and-"

"What?" The name was unexpected, and shattered any attempts Kagome was making to be distant or cold. Groping about with her hand, she found the wall and steadied herself even as two house slaves passed by and cast her curious looks. She for once completely ignored them in favor of looking at her father. "The Nasakis? Here?"

Clearly Taro had not expected such a reaction from his daughter; looking at her abruptly with concern. "Yes, Kagome. I…assumed you would be pleased. You and Hojo were always so close as children."

Shaking her head, Kagome for a moment had no words. Overwhelmed with memories; as though with one name a trap door had been opened in her mind. "Why…why are they coming here?" Hojo's mother had been a good friend of Megumi's, and it had meant their children had spent a lot of time together growing up. There had even been a time when they had dreamed about uniting the households with a marriage; but of course everything had been destroyed before either Kagome or Hojo had been old enough to even consider getting married, and Kagome had not seen him since.

Nor had she wanted to.

While Megumi had died protecting her daughter, Hojo's mother had survived the Great Revolution. And for reasons unknown, Kagome had never been able to forgive either Hojo or his family for that reality. Somehow irrationally feeling like it was yet another betrayal of her mother that her dearest friend had lived and even embraced her new life, while Megumi was dead.

"It's not important," Taro stated in a more matter of fact voice. Wounded that his daughter had pulled into herself and refused to allow him to help her, and retreating behind his more familiar mask of arrogance in response.

Kagome gave him a bitter laugh. "That really means you're keeping secrets again."

"It's for your own good."

"Only a fool would think that's an acceptable answer." Kagome drew herself back up again to her full height and let go of the wall. Feeling once again more in control of her emotions with bad memories firmly locked away. "And I'm not a fool; not any more." She challenged him with her stare. Refusing to back down or walk away, as she'd done so often in the past. Trying in that instant to mimic Sango's expression whenever she wanted something.

Taro narrowed his eyes on his daughter, clearly trying to size up just how far she was willing to go. And in the end apparently decided it wasn't worth the fight. "The Nasaki family wrote to me asking for refuge and shelter a week ago. Their slaves have revolted, and destroyed their home. They have nowhere else to go. I wrote back and granted their request."

Kagome wasn't sure what had her more surprised: the fact that her father had actually answered the question, or the answer itself.

Perhaps it was both.

"Revolted." Kagome tried the word on for size, and felt a shiver pass down her spine as she became painfully aware of the fact that there were slaves just down the hall in the kitchen. Preparing meals. Doing laundry. Cleaning the house. Thinking of all the slaves outside in the cold, working themselves to death tilling the earth and producing crops and building a barn for her father's new horses set to arrive in a month.

There were so many of them…and at any moment, they could revolt. To Kagome, it seemed inevitable. And when they did…

"Are you alright?"

Her father reached out to touch her cheek, but Kagome slapped his hand away. Glaring at him in anger. "Don't touch me." In that instant, she came as close to hating him as she'd ever been. "This is all your fault. All of it!" She might as well have slapped him, his face paling as he recoiled from her rage. But she didn't care. "I can't stay here any more. I have to get away. And I'm taking Sango with me."

Taro leapt into action, reaching out and catching her by the arm. Refusing to release her; his fingers bruising her skin through the material of her dress. "What do you mean you're leaving? Where will you go, Kagome?"

"I don't know. Anywhere but here!" She valiantly tried to get away from his grip, but he wouldn't release her. "I'll write to my grandfather. If he is still alive, surely I can stay with him! I just know I can't stay here any more. I should have left a long time ago. I just kept hoping that somehow you weren't the monster you really are!" Nothing could have cut deeper, and Taro seemed to collapse as he let her go, so abruptly that Kagome was unprepared and stumbled backwards. Tears in her eyes as she looked at the man she'd loved so dearly as a child, now a complete stranger to her. And damn her bleeding heart, but even knowing everything he'd done, she hated making him hurt. "Forgive me…I…I just…"

It was quite possibly the most emotion she'd seen on his face since her mother died, and Kagome couldn't bear it. Turning on her heal and stumbling down the hall towards the front doors. Throwing them open and letting the frigid autumn air pour into her lungs in an icy rush. The tears on her cheeks turning cold as she furiously wiped them away. Hands on her hips as she looked out at the turnaround before her; looked beyond to the road leading away from the Shinto Estate. Knowing at the edge of their land would be a gate with the Higurashi initials, once a welcome to guests, and now more of a warning against those who hadn't been invited.

The sun harshly illuminated the fields to either side of the road; the crops about halfway harvested. Some places still covered with golden stocks of wheat or the tall green leaves of the corn, other places now nothing more than harsh holes of violated earth; the slaves having barely begun to work over the soil with their tools to prepare it for the winter.

Once, long ago, the Shinto Estate had been only a fourth the size it was now. And once, long ago, a few paid servants, along with Taro Higurashi himself, had maintained it. Now everything had changed.

"Well, mama…what do I do?" She whispered. But of course there was no answer. Her mother was dead. Murdered. Stolen from her, by the very people her father now followed and obeyed.

Off in the distance she saw a carriage coming down the road. Knowing immediately who it must be, since generally speaking guests were all but extinct at the Shinto Estate. And feeling another stab of irritation and anger over the fact that _this_ was her father's idea of letting her know in advance what was going on. Realizing he'd probably hoped the Nasaki family would arrive before he was forced to tell her the truth of their supposed visit. Probably hoped she'd fall right back into her old way of interacting with Hojo, and wouldn't even think to ask him why her friend was there in the first place.

Almost with an air of defiance Kagome looked at the approaching carriage one final time and then walked down the steps and away from the guests she'd been instructed to entertain. Having no desire to see them. Moving instead around the house and down the path towards the herb garden, long neglected and covered in weeds. Some of the herbs had flourished despite the neglect. Others had died off. Although for reasons unknown, Taro hadn't destroyed it to be recycled for some other purpose. Instead he'd left the fenced off patch of earth to die on its own.

Located beyond the kitchens, it was easy to ignore. And most people did ignore it. Or at least most people _avoided_ it…as though everyone on the estate could sense that somehow this was sacred ground. Tiptoeing around the earth the way one walked softly around the grounds of a church.

Moving up to the tiny little wooden gate, the fence itself only coming to her waist, Kagome looked towards the back. To the unmarked and yet painfully out of place white stone, a stark contrast to the dirt and the weeds.

This _was_ sacred ground. Or at least it was for her. This was where her mother was buried.

Kagome rarely came to visit her mother's resting place; she'd always insisted to herself it was because it was too painful. But now, as she evaluated her life, she was forced to acknowledge that it was also probably because she'd not been willing to face the stark reality that her mother was not only dead, but her father was lost to her forever. That he'd become a monster in this new world. A man neither she nor her mother would have been able to recognize.

Moving up to the stone, Kagome sank down gently to her knees. Digging her fingers into the dirt as she closed her eyes and remembered, to the best of her ability, everything about Megumi Higurashi. Painting in her mind her mother's warm brown eyes and bright, welcoming smile. The softness of her hair as Kagome had played with it as a little girl. The gentle, deft touch of her fingers as she'd braided her daughter's hair every day after breakfast. Always instructing her on how a lady should behave; doing so with a patience that could have withstood any challenge.

There were moments where Kagome found she couldn't quite recall the sound of her mother's voice; in those moments she'd panic. But in this moment, sitting mere feet above where her mother rested within the arms of the land she'd loved so much in life, Kagome could recall it perfectly.

Megumi had not been a beauty, per say; she'd been an average woman in many ways, with modest ambitions for her life and generic features on her face. But the warmth in her eyes had made her, as Taro had often said, the most beautiful woman in the world. Her arms, so gentle and even sometimes fragile, had still seemed inhumanly strong when she'd held Kagome close after a nightmare. And even though all she'd ever wanted was to marry a good man and raise a family, she'd created with her love and her devotion to both husband and daughter a veritable paradise at the Shinto Estate. A paradise all had fallen in love with, and been drawn to.

Average, clearly, she had not been, since upon her death everything had turned cold, sterile, and dark. And those who had loved her had not known how to go on without her; a fact that Kagome now realized included her and not just her father.

"I've been running away, mama," she confessed in that instant. "And I'm sorry." Her fingers curled into the soil; feeling as dirt slipped beneath her fingernails. Not caring in the slightest about dirty fingers. "I should have left a long time ago, and…and I didn't. I was afraid. You were so brave, and I'm so sorry I was too afraid to honor that." Kagome never liked to think of the night her mother had died, but in that instant, she felt the memory knocking on the back door of her mind. Begging to be noticed.

As always, she firmly shut those memories away. Not wanting to think about the woman who'd murdered her mother. Not wanting to think about the sight of Megumi's lifeless eyes staring up at the ceiling, or the pool of blood on the floor. Or her father's voice, so loud and painful to the ears; his hands moving to her shoulders and shoving her small, child's body behind him protectively even as she screamed and cried out for her mother.

Now was not the time. Not that it ever really _was_ the time.

Some day…some day Kagome hoped she could pull out those memories and look at them and process them in the proper way. But not with so much risk and danger at stake, and so much to be done. She couldn't afford to have nightmares again until she was in a home where she was secure.

Maybe that would never happen. Maybe she'd never be safe again. And maybe those memories would remain buried forever. Only time would tell. All Kagome knew was it had taken her three years to suppress the nightmares, and ever since she'd kept them at bay through sheer force of will. She didn't even dare speak about the details with Sango. Afraid anything might tip the scales and open the floodgates all over again.

"I'm going to leave him, mama," she said at last. "And…and that means I have to leave you too." It was painful for Kagome to contemplate leaving her home, where her mother was buried. Terrified if she did, no one else would ever remember Megumi Higurashi. It was an unmarked stone because for many years Taro had been paranoid that the slaves would desecrate and defile the ground; that they would take out their rage against the master on his deceased wife's grave. And then, as time had gone by and such fears had been proven invalid, it seemed as though Taro simply lost the desire to honor or remember Megumi at all. So she remained where she was, and the only solace Kagome had was knowing she was in the herb garden she'd loved and tended so much in life.

Tears pricked again at the corners of her eyes, and not caring about the dirt on her fingers, Kagome wiped them away. Leaving smudges of dirt on her cheeks. "I know you loved him. I know you would probably disapprove, but I just can't live with him any more. And I don't think you'd want me to, if you knew him now. He's not the same. He's not what he used to be."

In many ways, her father had died that day too. The good man who'd laughed even as he tried to build the fence around his wife's herb garden in time for her birthday…who'd carried Kagome on his shoulders even at the end of a long, hard day of work…that man was gone. And she mourned him as much as she mourned her mother.

Abruptly Kagome jumped to her feet when she heard the sound of the gate opening, followed by a string of curses (the hinges hadn't been greased in nearly a decade and so it was like the screeching of a banshee in the relative silence of the afternoon). Eyes widening as she saw, of all people, Inuyasha kicking the gate closed with enough unnecessary force to imply it had somehow offended him by daring to make a noise. His eyes turned to look at her, and she felt everything in her tense in response. Held prisoner by those amber eyes. Trying to brace herself for whatever might come next.

She'd not seen him in over a week. And the last few interactions had ended with more drama than she really needed. So now she was braced for anything.

Except nothing happened.

A slight breeze ruffled the skirts of her dress, and in the silence her mind focused on other things as Kagome became painfully aware of how she must look. Her skirts covered in mud where she'd been kneeling on the ground. Dirt under her nails. Her eyes red. Cheeks stained with tears. Streaks of dust on her cheeks.

And the fact that he wasn't saying anything wasn't helping matters either.

"W-What are you doing here?" She asked at last, cursing herself for stuttering. For reasons unknown, she didn't like the idea of appearing weak before this man.

Inuyasha blinked as though coming back to reality with a shake of his head. Comically looking over his shoulder for one moment as though thinking the answer would be behind him; a thought that for reasons she couldn't explain actually annoyed her somewhat. Annoyed with this man who raked her over the coals every time she met him, and was even now daring to intrude on a private moment.

The wind stirred again briefly, his wealth of silver hair catching her attention briefly before her eyes returned to his. Demanding an answer. Refusing to remember how attractive she found him. Right now, standing so near her mother's grave and so close to the fight she'd had with her father, none of that mattered.

He seemed to realize that as he finally settled on her gaze and stopped fidgeting long enough to answer. "Your father…the master…he is demanding your presence at the house." It was almost like he didn't know how to address her, or how to refer to her father in her presence.

"Oh." Kagome didn't know why she felt disappointed. What else had she expected for an answer, that Inuyasha had come looking for her on his own? Why on earth would he have done that? Maybe she was frustrated with the formal way he was speaking to her; as if he almost wanted to still call her 'mistress' or 'my lady'. Those formal titles creating a barrier between herself and him – herself and the other slaves – that could never be breached.

Cursing herself for being stupid and sentimental, Kagome crossed her arms defensively over her chest and nodded her head once. "Well thank you for the information. I'll return to the house shortly." She expected him to go. Except he didn't. Instead, Inuyasha remained rooted to the ground. Studying her intently for a time. Leaving her feeling uncomfortable and exposed.

Finally he spoke. "What are you doing out here alone?"

Kagome stiffened. Wondering what he was up to; a part of her wishing desperately that he were asking for her sake alone, but another part of her suspicious that he was simply looking for more fodder to berate her with. More of the same spoiled-rich-man's-daughter tirades he'd been giving her from the first day.

As a result, she was on the defensive immediately. "What does it matter why I'm out here? For that matter, what does it matter if I'm out here _alone_?"

That seemed to wake him up too, as she saw his own temper coming to life. A look she was learning slowly to recognize by the way his amber eyes turned molten. God knew she'd been on the receiving end of his temper enough times to know what it looked like. "It's dangerous for you to be alone. And this seemed like an odd place to find you."

"Dangerous? Why is it dangerous?" Kagome wondered what he knew. Wondered what Inuyasha wasn't telling her. And also wondered why he suddenly cared about her personal safety. She had fought with this man more than she'd fought with anyone else in her life, and she'd barely known him for more than a month.

He was a complete mystery to her. A baffling, frustrating mystery.

"Forget it," he snapped back. "Maybe I'm just irritated to see that while your father is making life miserable for the slaves back at the house, tearing the place apart looking for you, you're just out here in some random garden pouting."

As always, with one remark from him any and all soft thoughts and feelings evaporated as Kagome stiffed her spine and stuck her nose in the air. Refusing to give him the satisfaction of breaking down. Refusing to look back at her mother's grave. "You don't know what you're talking about. But if it means that much to you, I'll go back to the house. I've never intentionally wanted anyone hurt. But it seems like no matter what I do, that's what happens anyway. I won't have people saying they were harmed _because_ of me." The tears threatened again; seemed like she couldn't stop them. And not wanting him to see it, she tried to rush past and return to the house.

At the last instant, Inuyasha reached out with his arm and caught her just above the elbow. "Kagome, wait…" He released her when she visibly cringed as he touched her, watching suspiciously as she rubbed at her arm. He'd not grabbed her _that_ hard, had he?

She looked at him even as she tried to ignore the sting from where he'd managed to touch her in the same place her father had grabbed her earlier; her skin protesting with bruises undoubtedly forming beneath the material of her dress. "What? What is it?" She wouldn't have stopped, except for the fact that he'd said her name. He'd only said her name once before, by the well. And just like that moment, this time it had stopped her dead in her tracks.

"I…look…I just don't like seeing you so upset, okay?" Inuyasha was floundering around for something plausible to say. It wasn't entirely true that he'd been sent to find her; he'd only heard Taro Higurashi throwing a fit when his guests had arrived and Kagome couldn't be found. A few of the slaves in the house had sent him a pleading look to find her before the master really lost his temper, and Inuyasha had reluctantly agreed to help.

Generally speaking he didn't like getting involved unless it was his choice and at his instigation, so his reluctance wasn't unexpected. But in this case, it was for different reasons. He'd been avoiding Kagome as much as she'd been obviously avoiding him for the past week. Trying to process the magnitude of what had happened out by the well. Trying to decide if perhaps he'd dreamed it all up, or if she had truly, completely by accident, begun to purify the diamond shard around his neck. It had so stunned him that he'd not even spoken to Miroku about it yet. Trying to figure out what he'd do with such information. Trying to figure out what he _should_ do with such information.

On the one hand, he ruthlessly wanted to simply grab hold of the master's little daughter and threaten her with pain and torture unless she purified the shard around his neck. And then force her to do the same with every other demon on the estate. Holding her prisoner as they moved throughout the land and forced her to purify the other diamond shards of the other demons they found along the way. Using her as their best tool to mount a rebellion against Naraku.

It was something he might not have had any qualms about had it been the other women he'd been forced to 'entertain' at other estates. This was war, in his mind; they were at war. And nothing was sacred. He'd give anything to regain his freedom and avenge the deaths of his parents.

Except…for some reason the idea of doing such a thing to Kagome was unsettling. And because as a result he honestly didn't know what to do with her, he'd hidden away from her and buried himself in his work instead until he could get it all figured out.

But he'd promised to find her just now, and so he'd been forced to finally go look for Kagome Higurashi on purpose. Except where she'd been was the last place he'd expected; an old, obviously abandoned and untended garden. And something about the sight of Kagome on her knees in the dirt had broken through all the harsh barriers he'd erected around his humanity, leaving Inuyasha with the insane urge to comfort her. Especially once she stood up and actually looked at him (damn gate meant he'd startled her more than he'd planned).

The sight of her tear stained face had taken his breath away. And when he'd seen the stains on her dress and the dirt on her fingers, he'd had the insane urge to snatch her up close and haul her off to the nearest water source to scrub the dirt away. Because it looked unnatural on her. He didn't _want_ dirt under her fingernails; an odd thought to have, since up to now the clean hands of his masters and their families had always disgusted him. A sign of their treachery by selling out to Naraku and his mandates, at the expense of old friends and the freedom of the rest of the world. Yet on Kagome, it was different.

Perhaps it was the reality that if she truly had managed to purify the shard (there was still a part of him that was convinced he'd imagined the whole incident), then she was one of the purest souls he'd ever met. Or at least that's what the rumors always said. Only those with pure souls could remove the dark magic within the diamond shards.

Then again, maybe that was a load of crap too.

Except he was beginning to think it wasn't. Kagome's eyes were always so wide open and honest. And what he'd originally assumed was an act was, he now realized, who she was. She was perhaps a bit foolish and naïve – stupid, even, when it came to the realities of the real world – but she wasn't intentionally cruel. And she wasn't a liar. And knowing all of that made hating her really, really difficult…which pissed him off. Because he didn't want to like her. He didn't want to understand her. He just wanted to put her in a box and keep her there, along with her father and every other master and slave owner he'd come across since the Great Revolution.

But she was making that really difficult; especially when she smiled at him in response to what he said. The smile incredibly sad, and breaking his heart as a result. A heart he'd honestly thought was long dead and buried.

"You didn't seem to mind my being upset before," Kagome remarked with a wry tilt to her lips. "In fact, seems to me you were going out of your way to _make_ me upset."

For some reason, Inuyasha couldn't help but smile back slightly even as he grunted in a noncommittal way to her statement. "Yeah, well…you just look so pathetic when you're upset. No one likes to kick a dog already licking its wounds in the corner."

Kagome flinched visibly before laughing again, although this time it was a harsher sound. "You definitely have a way with words."

Realizing he'd managed to stick his foot in his mouth again and recalling all the times Miroku had given him a bad time about his poor manners, Inuyasha cringed on her behalf. "Look…you're obviously upset. I guess I was asking what's wrong. But if you don't want to talk about it…"

"I've decided I'm going to leave," she finally blurted out. Surprising herself as much as she obviously surprised him with her remark. "I…I have a grandfather who might still be alive. I'm going to write to him and see if I can stay with him. I don't believe he has any slaves. Somehow he managed to avoid having to make a choice; maybe he was so old no one really cared what he did. Or his property was too small. I don't know. I just know that I'm going to try and find him and get away from here." It actually felt good saying it out loud to someone other than her father. Normally Sango would have been the first to hear of her plans, but in this instance Inuyasha just so happened to be the first person she'd seen since her fight with Taro.

There was more silence, and Kagome finally looked up to see Inuyasha looking at her with wide eyes. Clearly surprised by her little revelation. "Why the hell are you deciding to leave right now?"

The question was harsh, but Kagome ignored it. Growing accustomed to his more gruff way of speaking. It could sting at times, but at least she was learning he was that way no matter who he was speaking to. "I suppose because I've finally rediscovered a bit of courage. My father told me we had guests arriving, and I was expected to entertain them, but in truth I want nothing to do with them. I realized the longer I stay here, the more I'll become trapped in his world, and I don't want that. I want to be free of it. And ever since you came here…"

She froze with her mouth half open. Inuyasha looking at her expectantly, one eyebrow raised slightly higher than the other. "What? Ever since I came here what, Kagome? Your life has been miserable? Is that it?" There was an edge to his voice now. Clearly prepared for her to slash him with her words.

Except instead she stunned him.

"No, you arrogant jerk! You've opened my eyes. You…you've made me see what I couldn't see before now. And I can't live with myself any more. Not like this. Not here. I can't stand it. This house is like a prison! I have to leave." The words poured out almost against her will; as though her mind and her heart were determined to have their say, despite what logically did or did not make sense. But abruptly she wished she'd not said a word. Feeling like Inuyasha, at any moment, would begin to criticize her or rip her plans apart. To mock her for being sentimental or foolish. So she backed away from him and again crossed her arms. "I don't need to hear your opinion on the matter either. This is what I've decided to do. Besides, this way I'll be gone and you won't have to deal with me any more."

Inuyasha was still staring at her as if she'd grown a second head.

He had inspired her? Truly? How was that even possible? Was she fucking insane? All he'd done since he'd arrived was rip her apart! He was no fool…he knew what he'd been like. And instead of hating him, she…she was inspired?

Maybe she was certifiable, he decided. Perhaps the best thing for her would be a mental institution. "I suppose it's probably a good thing," he said at last. His voice slow and careful; obviously measuring out each word before he said it…comically trying desperately not to say the wrong thing for once. "For you to leave, I mean." He of course was thinking that it might keep her safe in the long run (not that he really cared what happened to her, of course…it was simply a logical point to make). He was well aware of the unrest in the world; was sure that eventually revolution would sweep the country back into war. And was also sure that no matter how it started, he would be in the thick of it making sure they succeeded in regaining their freedom.

It would not be a world kind to slave owners. And Inuyasha heard what the other slaves said; they didn't hate Kagome, but no one exactly wanted to stick their neck on the line for her either. If the mood turned south, she'd go down with the ship if she remained. So truly…perhaps it was a good choice for her to leave and be out of sight, out of mind. Safely tucked away somewhere until the storm passed.

But of course Kagome took it the wrong way. Assuming he was telling her to leave because he would be glad to be rid of her. Pressing her lips into a thin line, she looked again at the white stone on the far edge of the garden. "Yes. I think it is. I don't have any reasons to stay any more." The longing in her voice betrayed her. A small voice whispering in the back of her head that this had been her home all her life, and she'd never really left it, and it was where her mother was buried, and…

"Kagome…" She looked up at him, and then looked away. But Inuyasha would not be deterred. "What are you doing out here? Why were you crying?" He'd seen her eyes looking at the stone on the end of the garden; a stone that was about as out of place as a fish would be in the middle of a corn field. He knew a marker when he saw one…but a marker for what?

Fresh tears sprung up in her eyes, and Inuyasha panicked. "Oh hell…I didn't want you to cry again…"

"It's where my mother is buried," she finally said. Quickly and softly. So softly he almost didn't catch it, before she turned and ran away from him. Too fast for him to grab her and keep her in place as she yet again left him to gape like a fool while trying to process what she'd told him.

Her mother.

Honestly, Inuyasha hadn't even thought about the idea of her having a mother. It hadn't occurred to him that it was odd only her father was around. But suddenly he wanted to know more. Wanted to know how the woman had died. Wanted to know _when_ she had died. Wanted to know everything that he didn't already know about Kagome Higurashi, which…as it was turning out…was one hell of a lot.

"Shit." He kicked at the dirt – hard – to expel a bit of frustration. Not knowing what the hell he was supposed to do now. Not knowing how to deal with any of this. Wishing it wasn't so damn complicated. Wishing it was more obvious; wishing Kagome wasn't so damn sympathetic. Wishing he could just grab her and force her to give him all the answers he wanted. Find out if she really could purify the shards, and then use her to further his objectives if she could.

He didn't want to care. Didn't want to know they had more in common than he'd first realized.

Moving out of the garden (he just jumped the damn fence this time instead of pushing open that ridiculously noisy gate), he headed back towards the slave quarters. Thinking what he really needed was some time to think. But he was interrupted from his thoughts when Miroku approached with an expression that was equal parts excited and apprehensive. "What the hell has you looking like that?" He asked with his usual amount of charm.

As always, Miroku just ignored it. "There are guests who've just arrived," he said.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Old news, monk. I already knew that." He flashed again to Kagome in the dirt, but pushed the image away.

"Ah, but I'll bet you didn't know _why_ these people are here, did you?" Now Miroku looked like the cat with the bowl of cream. Inuyasha just glared; refusing to play games. Waiting for the man to spill it, which he did a moment later. He really did have a weakness for gossip. "They're here because their slaves revolted. They have nowhere else to go."

All thoughts of Kagome faded away as Inuyasha froze. "Really?" A revolt on another estate…that had apparently succeeded? That had managed to evict the owners from their home and send them running away? "This might be just what we need, Miroku." Inuyasha had been speaking to some of the slaves about revolting and escaping since he'd first arrived, but so far no one had really felt like the plan would work. Understandably terrified that if they tried and failed, all would be for naught and their punishment would be severe.

It was the age-old story…while perhaps their lives were not their own here on the Shinto Estate, at least it was familiar. And most people usually chose to stick with what was familiar rather than take a risk, jump into the ravine, and find out what waited at the bottom.

But perhaps now…perhaps now he could gain a few more followers. "See if you can get a few people together. While that idiot is having dinner with his guests, we'll have a talk." Inuyasha clapped Miroku on the shoulder, and the man nodded with purpose before striding away to begin spreading the word.

There were many demons on this particular estate; if Kagome _could_ purify the shards then they just might be able to…

Abruptly Inuyasha stopped walking as he again recalled how she'd looked standing there with smudges of dirt under her red-rimmed eyes. "Fuck it." He shook his head violently as if that could somehow erase the images altogether so he could get back to the business at hand. This was why he didn't want to get emotionally involved. Because Kagome just might be the key to their success, and he refused to let emotions get the better of him after so many years spent kicked in the dirt.

Vengeance had been a long time coming, and nothing – not even a girl with beautiful cobalt blue eyes – would get in his way. If this was his chance, he intended to take it. And God help anyone who got in his way.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Author's****Notes: **_I__'__ll __keep __the __notes __short __this __time __around! __Chapter __Eight, __as __promised! __And __there__'__s __a __teeny, __tiny __bit __of __fluff __for __everyone __who __have __been __so __patient __for __it. __Not __much, __but __a __little __something __to __carry __you __over __until __next __time._

_Thank you so very much to everyone for your thoughts and well-wishes. It means the world to me to know I have such supportive readers. I couldn't be more blessed. _

_I hope everyone from America had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with lots of friends, turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie! Next stop for everyone…Christmas! And I hope everyone who braved the malls on Friday survived. For me, this season means lots of work, and then a fun-filled trip to New York City on December 18th for an audition! I just found out over the weekend, so I'm definitely riding that wave too. If this audition goes well, next summer will find me performing in Tel-Aviv, Israel! So I think life just might finally be looking up. _

_Happy Holidays! Ho, Ho, Ho!_

* * *

Title: In Search of Eden

Author: dolphingirl0113

Chapter Eight

Rating: M - Violence, Language, and Sexual Situations

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. And any similarities to other existing stories is entirely unintentional and coincidental. This story is based originally on an earlier work, titled 'Impossible Dreams', and that work, like this one, belongs to me. Please do not plagiarize.

* * *

The Nasaki family turned out to be so exhausted from their journey that they requested almost immediately to be taken to their rooms for sleep. And while generally speaking this would have been viewed as rude, Kagome was grateful since it meant she didn't have to interact with her old playmate or his family for at least another twelve hours. Giving her time overnight to think on her interaction, altercation, argument - she didn't quite know what to call it, if she were being honest with herself – with Inuyasha that afternoon.

Lying in bed, she turned onto her side and looked out at the moon beyond her windows; clear and bright against an autumn sky that was utterly cloudless. It was a sight that should have been breathtaking in its beauty, but instead left Kagome feeling strangely hollow.

Inuyasha…

He continued to remain burrowed in her subconscious mind, whether she wanted him to be or not. And truthfully she couldn't understand why. The man had hardly said a pleasant word to her more than maybe three times since she'd met him, and even when being kind it seemed like everything he said was laced with an edge of…of something she couldn't quite name. But whatever that something was, it wasn't good. And because of that, she shouldn't have wanted anything to do with him.

Why did he affect her so much?

She'd meant what she said, of course; he _did_inspire her to be better. To take a closer look at what was going on around her, and then try and change it. But so far all Kagome felt like she'd done was discover what she didn't have control over, and how little change she could actually bring about.

Artificial…that's what her life felt like now. And perhaps that's why the sight of a gorgeous harvest moon left her so empty inside. Because it, like everything else in life, meant nothing; not without love and happiness and joy. And she'd not had any of those things for a long, long time.

Rolling onto her back, hair over one shoulder in a braid, Kagome stared up at the ceiling as she exhaled a long sigh. Trying to close her eyes, but struggling to stay asleep. Afraid of what waited for her if she did. Not trusting her mind to be kind. Knowing her dreams wouldn't be a place she wanted to linger.

Her thoughts then drifted to her father and how he'd behaved that night when she'd returned home.

For his part, Taro ignored his daughter. Clearly tiptoeing around her with all the finesse of a wounded animal trying to avoid another lashing. And that guilt now weighed on her heart too. Kagome still loved him. Still yearned for the man he'd once been, the same way she yearned for her old life. For love and laughter, and a sense of contentment. She yearned to feel again like she belonged somewhere, instead of walking between worlds as she'd been doing since her mother's death.

They'd not been wealthy, before the Great Revolution. They'd been a family of modest income...but they'd been happy. Kagome had washed her own clothes and cooked her own meals, alongside the single house servant they'd paid to live with them. She'd drawn her own bath water when she wanted baths, and aside from when her mother had brushed her hair at night, Kagome had done it herself. It was yet another reason why this new, unnecessarily pampered lifestyle felt so wrong; sitting on her like a dress that was damp and tight, chafing her skin and restricting her ability to breathe.

Shaking her head, Kagome sat up with her head in her hands. Taking several deep breaths and trying to calm her mind before finally moving to the window seat where she could look out over the landscape of her home. Imagining what it would be like if she were far, far away; if she never again saw this view. Wondering if it would be difficult, or if she would in fact feel a sense of freedom.

_Coward…_

A voice ruthlessly whispered in her mind. Even as Kagome shook her head, she knew the voice had a point. Surely she shouldn't – and couldn't – just run away like that. Surely she couldn't just leave her father to whatever fate waited for him when eventually he was made to pay for his sins.

And yet what else could she possibly do? She didn't know how to help her father. She didn't even know why he'd become what he was. And the slaves…none of them would probably be upset if she was gone, so why stay for them?

Resting her forehead against the glass pane of the window, Kagome watched the condensation forming on the glass from her breathing. Childishly drawing her initials with her finger. Breathing slowly as at last she began to drift away. The last thing she was aware of being muffled voices somewhere far, far away. Not realizing it was the slaves, meeting beyond the barn.

Her sleep was far from restful; one moment she was haunted by Inuyasha's eyes and the next she was haunted by the look on her father's face when she'd cut him down so thoroughly with her words. But the dream that woke her up immediately was that of her mother.

"_You can't leave him, Kagome." Megumi Higurashi chided her daughter. _

"_What would you have me do?" Kagome reached for her mother, but she remained just out of reach. "Mama…what would you have me do?" And suddenly she was alone. Crying out for someone to help her…someone to find her…_

Sango looked concerned when she saw the following morning that yet again her friend had not slept. The dark circles forming under Kagome's eyes becoming more and more prevalent with each passing day. And honestly, Kagome felt like she was being torn in two. She no longer knew what was right or wrong. All she did know was that inaction was driving her mad.

"You can't keep doing this Kagome," the warrior woman said that morning as she folded the laundry in her basket. Sitting on a stool by the fire to keep warm, while Kagome remained in a high back chair with a blanket over her legs. Sango frequently brought her chores into Kagome's room so the women could do them together while they talked. Giving Sango a reprieve from interaction with Taro and the other slaves, and letting Kagome have a little company. Sango looked up as she placed a folded towel into a clean basket. "You're torturing yourself for no reason."

From her place by the fire, Kagome said nothing at first. Watching the fire as it crackled. Recalling what she'd said to her father and to Inuyasha the day before, about leaving and finding her grandfather. Trying to decide if that was wise, or if such an action was just the coward's way out. Her mother's voice from that dream relentlessly pounding into her head.

Maybe she was abandoning her father because it was easy? Was that really all she was doing? "If you could leave this place, Sango, would you want to?"

She turned and looked at her friend, who paused in her chores long enough to shrug before continuing what she was doing. Clearly not taking what Kagome said very seriously. Not surprising. For all Sango knew, this was a hypothetical discussion only. "I suppose that would depend on the circumstances of my leaving. If by leave you mean die, then no, I'd prefer to keep going a little longer. I still hold out hope that we'll find a way out of all this." Sango drew in a breath and changed directions, knowing that kind of talk could get her into trouble if she was overheard. "And if you mean switch masters, no, I don't want that either. I'm with you. You're all I have left." Suddenly she seemed to realize what they were talking about, and looked up to meet Kagome's gaze. "Why do you ask? Is your father talking about…?"

"No! No, of course not." Kagome knew Sango's deepest fear; that Taro would punish Kagome by selling her best friend. "Technically you're mine, Sango."

"But he paid for me, as I recall; he gave you the money."

"And it's _my_name on the paperwork." Kagome hated reminding either herself or Sango that technically, in the eyes of the law, Sango was merely property. But in this instance it was necessary. "He can't sell you. You aren't being sent away."

"Then why are you…?"

"I'm considering leaving. And if I do, I want to take you with me." The fire crackled in the fireplace, sparks flying as a log broke in half and sank further into the pile of ashes. And the two women looked at one another in silence, as though trying to read one another's minds. In the end, Kagome broke first. "Will you say something?"

Sango blinked. "I don't really know what to say. What do you mean you're thinking about leaving? Where would you go?"

"To see my grandfather. I think it would be a safe place to live. He has no slaves."

"But…Kagome…" Sango ran a hand through her hair, dislodging half of it from her carefully tied ponytail. Huffing softly in irritation, she set about fixing it. "…why do you want to leave now? Is it about these visitors?"

Kagome wasn't sure what she'd expected for a reaction, but Sango's obvious hesitation left her feeling a bit dead inside. All her fears rushing back as she wondered if in fact she was just making a rash, unnecessary decision that would cause more damage in the end. "It's…it's just everything, Sango. I can't handle this any more. I was thinking maybe if I just left, at least then I wouldn't hurt anyone else. I wouldn't accidentally cause more problems for all the slaves. And my father…" Her throat tightened. "…he's just so different. I can't stand seeing him like this."

There was more silence, and Kagome looked up to see Sango staring at her in such a direct, pointed way that there was no mistaking the message. Causing Kagome to look away again and towards the floor. Bunching up her fingers in the skirt of her dress as she sighed and then bit her lip. "You think I'm running away."

There were two seconds of silence before Sango spoke, and that was all the answer she needed, even though her friend tried to soften the blow a bit. "I understand why you want to leave, Kagome. I just don't think now is the time. I…I think it would make things worse for people in the end, you know?"

"Worse how?"

"Your father might lose any rational thoughts he has left."

Her temper flared as Kagome shot to her feet. "I don't know what anyone wants from me any more. I stay, and I hurt people. I leave, and apparently I'll hurt people. I don't want to be here! I'm scared. There, I said it…I'm scared. The Nasaki family is here because their slaves revolted, Sango. Did you know that? What if that happens here? What if everyone rebels and…"

Kagome trailed off as she saw one brief instant where her friend looked away. Sango never looked away, unless she was trying to conceal something. She was as honest as the day was long, and couldn't tell a lie even if her life depended on it.

Something sinking in the pit of her stomach, Kagome stiffened her spine and steeled herself for more bad news. "What is it? What aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing, Kagome…"

"_What_ aren't you telling me?"

Clearly gathering her thoughts, Sango smoothed out the fabric of her own dress with as much dignity as she could muster before she locked gazes with her best friend. In that instant, Kagome realized she had never felt more divided. Her room had suddenly turned into a chasm, and she was on one side while Sango was on the other.

"There was a meeting last night amongst the slaves," Sango said slowly. As though worried somehow Kagome would miss the facts if she spoke too quickly. Vaguely Kagome recalled the voices she'd heard before she'd fallen asleep, but said nothing. Waiting for the rest of the explanation with a knot in her stomach. "They…" Sango paused and corrected herself. "_We_ spoke about the implications of the revolt on the Nasaki estate. Tried to decide how…how we might gain our own freedom."

And there it was.

In truth it was Sango's firm use of the word 'we' that cemented reality for Kagome. Leaving her legs shaking as her face paled. Furiously gripping the arm of her chair as she refused to cry or show any weakness. Feeling as though she'd already humiliated herself enough. "And you would ask me to stay here, knowing full well you all wish to have a revolt? Knowing full well that would mean…" Her voice caught, but she pushed on. "…it would mean my father's death?" And it would, too. The Nasaki family had fled, but Kagome knew her father. Taro Higurashi would sooner die than be left homeless and at the mercy of his friends for survival.

The idea was like a cold, harsh shaft of pain in her heart. Showing she clearly loved the man still, far more than she thought she did. Her loyalties were well and truly torn between saving her father, and granting the slaves their right to fight for their freedom.

"Kagome, you won't tell him, will you?" Sango was regarding her friend now like a stranger. Clearly unsure how she would react. Which only drove the knife in deeper and twisted it painfully from side to side. "We…it was just talk. You have to know that it was just talk. This could amount to nothing."

Rising to her feet, Kagome shook her head with an exasperated frown. "Right. Although somehow I doubt this will all amount to nothing; things are changing. I can feel it." She looked at Sango with exhaustion and fear clearly on her face. Her entire body trembling from withheld, restrained energy. "But I won't tell him, Sango. I wouldn't do that to you." Hilariously enough, Kagome was now realizing that the mercy she'd once shown Sango might be the only thing that could potentially save her own life in the end.

Maybe.

It could also be that there was nothing left in the world that could save her. Whether she wanted to be or not, she was squarely on the side of the villains in this particular little fight. Or at least she was right now; and she was running out of time to prove otherwise to the slaves. Suddenly she wished for more time. Wished she could go back and redo or change the way she'd handled certain situations. Even as she also knew full well such wishes were impossible. Time only marched forward, never backward.

Kagome moved towards the door, and Sango rose to her feet. "Where are you going?"

"I don't know."

"Kagome, please…"

Holding up a hand, Kagome halted her friend. "Just leave it be, Sango. It would have come to this eventually. I'm grateful you and I have managed to stay friends through it all, but at the end of the day I know and I understand which side you have to be on." She tried to smile, but failed. Looking away. "Just…just out of curiosity, who called the meeting?" She already suspected she knew the answer, but Kagome needed confirmation nonetheless.

And she got it a moment later. "Inuyasha and Miroku led the meeting."

Even expecting it, the truth was another blow as Kagome recalled their conversation out in the herb garden. Inuyasha had actually, for one brief moment, actually seemed to care. And Kagome had dared to hope. But perhaps she was just fooling herself. Perhaps all along he'd been playing her for a fool, and this was his mission. Or maybe…maybe there was nothing sinister about it, but at the end of the day he had his mission and his goals and he wasn't going to be slowed down by the likes of her.

Nodding her head once, Kagome moved out into the hallway. Closing the door behind her. Not wanting Sango to follow.

She didn't resent her friend; this was just one of those impossibly messy, twisted situations where there was no good solution. No perfect way out. No happily ever after. Naraku's Great Revolution had turned friends into enemies, and divided the whole population into slaves and masters. A system that really couldn't sustain itself forever. And she knew war would come again; only this time there would be innocent victims like herself, with no way out. If she were to survive it would be by her own courage and fortitude, and nothing else. Her father couldn't protect her. And she wouldn't ask Sango to forsake her chance at freedom either.

No. It was up to her to survive, if survival were even possible. She had to follow her own instincts now, because even Sango's opinions were suspect. Perhaps the woman only wanted her to stay so that Taro didn't go off the rails before the slaves were fully ready to revolt. Perhaps Kagome had become some kind of sacrificial lamb; crucial to keeping the peace…until it was time again for war.

Truthfully, she had no idea what to do. And no one she could talk to either.

The possibility of her grandfather's home again floated through her mind, and Kagome wondered yet again if that's not what she should do. Just get out before the attacks came, and then let events unfold how they would. That at least would remove any guilt from Sango's shoulders about protecting her friend and her feelings; with Kagome gone, there wouldn't be any fear of rising up and accidentally injuring her in the process.

Except…Kagome had always assumed her friend would come with her on such a journey. The idea of leaving her behind…or for that matter, the true realities of leaving her father…

"Kagome?" The masculine voice caught her somewhat off guard, and Kagome paused to turn and look at a face she'd not seen in over seven years.

Hojo had certainly matured into a handsome young man, with brown hair, beautiful clear eyes, and a square cut jaw. He was classically attractive in the way statues were handsome. And there was a surprising level of warmth in his gaze too; not the edge of cruelty or detachment so many had when in the business of owning slaves.

Blushing slightly as she realized he was evaluating her with just as much scrutiny as she evaluated him, Kagome looked away. "Hojo…"

He smiled. "It's good to see you again."

The polite response would have been a reciprocated response. And Kagome could tell by the look on Hojo's face that he fully expected her to say she was glad to see him again too. Except she couldn't quite get the words to form, and in the end she simply hung her head. Too exhausted and world weary to be coy or polite. Instead she was honest. "I wish I were seeing you under different circumstances."

The easy smile faltered somewhat, and Hojo looked away as well. The pair of them staring at the floor. Two old friends, now worlds apart…yet another victim of The Great Revolution; another victim of the demon lord Naraku.

Silence between them swelled so tight and tense that Kagome found it difficult to breathe, and finally she exhaled before looking at him again. Chiding herself for being so cruel to someone who clearly had about as much control over his life as she did. "I'm sorry. That wasn't necessary."

He waved a hand to wipe away her remark. "No…I understand. This isn't exactly the way we figured life would work out, is it?" This time his smile wasn't so kind. It was laced with sadness. "I seem to recall your mother telling mine that some day we should get married…"

"But that was a long time ago," Kagome finished. Hojo nodded and for a time they lapsed into silence again.

A slave approached down the hall, carrying fresh linens for the guest rooms, and Kagome jumped at the woman's appearance. Immediately ashamed of her reaction as the slave gave a strange look, wondering why the young master's daughter suddenly looked so afraid. But Kagome found she couldn't seem to help it. Seeing each slave now as a possible threat to not only her safety, but that of her father's as well.

For his part, Hojo looked equally nervous. And in the end it all devolved into a rather awkward moment as the woman did her best to scurry by with a whispered 'good morning' before disappearing down the hall.

"I'm such a fool," she said at last. Passing a hand over her face with a chiding laugh.

"Not really," Hojo tried to console. Moving up and putting a hand on her shoulder without asking permission, but she didn't immediately shake him off. "These are kind of weird times we live in. There's a lot of danger out there." His unspoken statement was proof that he knew all about that danger. It was why his family now had no home to go back to.

Moving away from him, Kagome headed for the stairs. Gesturing for him to follow if only so she didn't leave the poor man standing at loose ends in her second floor hallway. Coming down to the main level and hearing her father's voice in his study, along with the voices of what had to be Hojo's parents.

Almost immediately Kagome turned to walk the other direction.

"Don't you want to go in there?" Hojo asked, although he followed her instead of going in to see his parents.

"No, I don't." And it was obvious by the tone of her voice she didn't care to elaborate, so Hojo didn't ask her to. Instead she led him outside. Where she hoped perhaps to get away from the feeling that she was being watched and overheard around every corner. "I think fresh air sometimes makes everything better, don't you?"

Looking around, Hojo had an unreadable expression on his face. "I suppose."

That wasn't exactly the answer she was looking for. Kagome was doing her best to lighten the mood somewhat and put a smile back on his face; still feeling guilty for so thoroughly shooting him down back in the hallway. But he wasn't making it very easy, and in the end she decided to just take the more direct approach. "Are you alright, Hojo? Do you…do you need to talk about what happened?"

His gaze sharpened slightly as he turned and looked at her before looking around. Clearly seeing all the slaves out in the fields. "I don't know if it's wise to talk about such things…out here."

"Where else would you talk about it?"

"Inside, perhaps…"

Kagome sighed. "There are slaves inside the house too, if that's what you're worried about."

"I know there are." He looked at his fingers, clasped before him. "And I don't suppose I'm ever going to really feel safe again as a result."

It was obvious that he was desperate to talk, and in the end Kagome just put a hand on his arm and guided Hojo off the steps and onto the familiar gravel path that would lead around the house and out to the well. Thinking perhaps some exercise would help him relax enough to speak his mind. "Then you might as well just say what needs to be said, and be done with it. If we're all in danger already, you can't make it worse."

Hojo gave her an appreciative smile and even covered her hand with his own as they walked. "You're a brave woman, Kagome. Like your mother."

Kagome flinched slightly and pulled away from his touch, but kept walking. "I'm not that brave. I'm just being pragmatic, that's all. Trust me, the first thing I wish I could do right now is run away. There's nothing brave about that."

"I wouldn't judge you for leaving."

For some reason, that made her feel better. Hojo was a friend from a long time ago, but he was still, in some twisted way, a friend. And Kagome appreciated knowing at least one person on the planet wouldn't see her as totally selfish for leaving.

"_It would probably be for the best…you leaving, I mean."_

Abruptly she recalled another man who'd seemed to agree with her plans; Inuyasha's intense eyes as he'd spoken those words seared into her memory. She'd assumed in the moment he was saying such a thing because he couldn't wait to be rid of her. But now…after hearing what Sango had said, and knowing Inuyasha was the one who'd called the meeting in the first place…she was forced to recognize a second motivation. Maybe – just maybe – Inuyasha wanted her safely out of the way before he opened up the floodgates and unleashed hell all over her father's carefully structured life.

It was a thought she'd not considered before, and abruptly Kagome wished she could seek out the man and ask him directly what he'd meant by it. Even as she also knew that was a foolish thing to do. So in the end she stayed with Hojo and continued to walk.

"Well…I haven't decided what I'll do. I'll sit on it for a little while longer first, I think. Nothing good comes from acting too rashly after all."

Hojo shook his head. "Except these things can happen really quickly, Kagome. I mean they can get out of control before you even know what's going on. That's…that's what happened to us. My parents had barely started to hear about rumors, and the next thing you know we barely escaped with our lives."

"What did they do?" In some twisted way, Kagome felt like knowing would help her. At least she might have a clue of what was to come.

"I'd rather not talk about it," he insisted. "Just…just know it wasn't pretty."

Looking down, Kagome sighed. Wishing he'd give her a different answer. Feeling in some strange way like he was taking the coward's way out by choosing to remain silent. But also knowing she had no right to press him about it. And so again in the end they lapsed into another silence for a time. She'd not struggled to speak with him like this when they were children; vaguely she wondered if the difference now was all that had happened, or if it were simply how it would have always been eventually when they grew up.

She'd never know, would she? It was one more question that would never really have an answer.

Abruptly, Hojo stiffened. Kagome, oblivious, kept walking until he reached out and grabbed her arm in a fierce grip. Leaving her to yelp slightly in surprise before whirling on the man. "What is wrong with you…?" But his eyes weren't looking at her; they were focused squarely over her shoulder. Turning around, Kagome felt the air leave her lungs. "Inuyasha."

Standing there, the half demon regarded them steadily with a fierce scowl in place. His eyes, oddly enough, focused on the hand gripping Kagome's arm. And as if realizing this Hojo almost immediately released her, although he moved slightly in front of her as though to protect her from anything evil. That only seemed to irritate Inuyasha further as fire leapt in an amber gaze.

Not wanting the tension to continue Kagome stepped away from Hojo, which seemed to surprise both men. "It's alright, Hojo," she said.

But the man didn't seem convinced. "Like hell it is. We should go back." He made to grab for her arm, but Kagome moved away. Out of his reach. This caused Hojo to frown. "I'm trying to protect you Kagome. We should go back to the house."

Kagome put her hands on her hips and stood her ground. "I am perfectly safe." She didn't fully believe that, but she refused to show fear in front of Inuyasha or anyone else. Now was the time to try and find some piece of her mother's courage. Under her skirts though her legs were shaking. "But you are welcome to go back to the house if you like."

"I'm not leaving you alone with…_him_," Hojo insisted. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes, and the man seemed to falter somewhat under his resolve. His voice softening slightly as he looked at Kagome imploringly. "Let's just go."

"No. I'm fine. He won't hurt me. You go back if you like, Hojo…but I'm staying out here. I wanted to walk to the well." She understood his fears, but she wouldn't give in to them herself. Not yet. If she did, she'd be lost.

In the end Hojo turned and walked quickly back to the house, leaving her alone as she turned around and looked at Inuyasha. Braced for almost any kind of reaction imaginable from the man, since he was about as unpredictable as lightning strikes in a storm. Raising an eyebrow, she almost dared him to speak. Dared him to insult her.

But he didn't. Instead all he said was: "You look tired." And she did. Inuyasha didn't recall seeing such circles under her eyes the day before, but apparently he'd not been paying much attention. It gave him pause; had him wondering why she wasn't sleeping. Recalling what she'd said about how he'd inspired her to pay attention. Worried somehow all that 'paying attention' was keeping her awake at night.

Not that it should matter, he chided himself. She was a master's daughter. She had plenty of time to sleep. If she chose not to it was her own damn fault!

So why did it bother him so much?

"Thanks a lot," she replied before moving around him and towards the well. "Was there something you needed? Or did I just accidentally run into you again?"

Inuyasha blinked, wondering if she was actually trying to make a joke about when they'd first met. But then realized she was walking away and for reasons unknown picked up his feet to follow her. Moving at her side as he tried to get a look at her face. Sensing something was different about her today, but not sure exactly what that something was. "It was an accident," he said at last. Not sure what else to say.

Talking in general was not his strong suit. But around this woman, unless he was screaming at her it seemed like he practically turned into a mute.

"Then why are you following me now?" She asked, a smile seeming to form on her lips almost against her will. Giving him a wry sideways glance. "Don't you have something else you should be doing?"

He grunted. "Probably. I'll get around to it eventually."

Kagome was itching to ask him if what Sango had told her was true. Desperate to find out if he really was planning a revolt on the estate. Wanting to know if his comment from the day before had really been him secretly trying to encourage her to leave. But also not knowing where on earth to even begin. "I heard voices last night," she finally started. Her voice a mere whisper.

That gave him pause, and Inuyasha looked at her out of wary eyes. But he tried to play it off as if it was no big deal. "Usually if someone is hearing voices, they need serious help."

"Right." She shook her head before pausing and looking at him. "But these weren't false voices were they, Inuyasha?"

His eyes grew intense and he leaned forward. Grabbing her arm and hauling her off behind him so abruptly that she had no choice but to keep up or fall over as she stumbled after him. Looking around to see if anyone was witness to the event, but finding they appeared for the moment to be completely alone.

Reaching the barn, he took her around to the back and pinned her with his eyes even as physically she found herself pinned against the wall. "What do you know Kagome? Tell me right now."

The look he gave her was far too intense. She wasn't prepared for it. "I…" Swallowing, she tried to muster some of that courage again as she tilted her chin proudly. "What does it matter what I know? You're going to do what you damn well think is right, and I can't stop you."

She knew then; he could tell by the look in her eyes. Inuyasha had no idea how she knew, but she did. "You could tell your father," he hissed. Nose to nose with her now.

Kagome gave a frustrated growl and tried to get away, but he kept her firmly in place by blocking her escape with his body. "Why does everyone see me in such a negative light? You all want your freedom…then fine. Take it. I don't like it; I don't want my father to die. But if he must, then he must. I won't stop you. I might try and save him after the fact, but I won't stop you from trying to win your freedom. I know it's what you want. What you all deserve."

Her eyes were furious as she looked at him, and Inuyasha felt himself slightly taken aback by what he saw. "I thought you were leaving," he finally managed to say.

"I changed my mind. I won't leave him." And in that instant, Kagome realized it was true. For better or worse, Taro Higurashi was her father. And she'd stay and try to protect him and get him to change, even if it meant her own life was forfeit in the end. Because if she left now, and he died, she'd never be able to live with herself.

But this only seemed to anger Inuyasha even more. "You stupid idiot! Don't you get that you'd be safer far away from here?"

"Maybe. But I won't abandon my father."

"And yet you'll let us attack him without giving him one hint of warning?"

Kagome bit her lip. Looking down as she tried to find a way to make him understand. "It's not what I want to do. But I also know what will happen if he knows. And I see how you are all treated." She looked up again with tears in her eyes. "I'll plead for his life when it's over; I will. I'll beg for it if I have to. But…but my best friend is a slave. And my mother died for _your_ cause. So…I won't try and stop you from gaining your freedom."

There were no lies in Kagome Higurashi's eyes as she looked at him, and Inuyasha felt something deep within shift. Seeing the raw, pure courage in this young girl's eyes as she refused to back away from what was undoubtedly a terrifying situation. Refusing to abandon her father, but on the other hand refusing to condemn her friend or dishonor her mother. Somehow managing to find the most honorable path in an otherwise dishonorable, messy situation.

And he admired the hell out of her for it. "Fuck." Stepping back, he looked at her as if she were some foreign creature he couldn't figure out. A riddle he couldn't solve. He literally didn't know what to _do_ with her.

The meeting the night before had gone better than he'd hoped. There had been a huge turnout. Almost all the slaves on the estate had turned up. And all of them had made it clear they were ready for freedom, or at least ready to die trying to get it. Only two people in the whole room had seemed nervous; Kouga and Sango quietly worried about Kagome's safety in the aftermath.

And now Inuyasha was feeling the same way as he looked at her steadily. Recognizing that in all fairness, she didn't deserve to die. Of course neither had his mother or his father. Neither had any of the others who'd died in the early years.

But Inuyasha perhaps had the ability to save this particular woman. And he felt oddly duty bound to do so.

He'd not yet told anyone about his suspicions regarding her abilities with the black diamond shards. Perhaps that would be her ticket to freedom; if the other demons knew she could free them, they would protect her. They would want to use her as a tool, if nothing else, to further their cause. And while their motivations wouldn't be the purest in the world, at least it would keep her alive.

What if he was wrong though? What if that had been a fluke before? What if she couldn't purify the shards?

"I have to go," she said after several moments of silence. Starting to move around him.

"Kagome…"

"There's nothing more to say, Inuyasha. You know what I say is true. There isn't any peaceful way out of this. So I'm doing what I think is best for me. I'm staying, but I'll do my best to look after myself."

The idea actually amused him somewhat. She looked like she couldn't harm a fly, and somehow thought she could handle a mob of angry slaves. But he wouldn't tell her that. Instead he stepped in front of her again to keep her from moving. "I'll try and protect you."

Kagome blinked. Not sure she'd heard him correctly. "Why?"

Inuyasha looked uncomfortable. "Because you don't deserve to die." And still he didn't mention the diamond shards. Though he didn't know why. Maybe because at the end of the day he knew, deep down, that didn't matter. Regardless of her abilities with the shards, she deserved to live. She was trying to do right by people in a world gone mad, and Inuyasha knew if he didn't try and save her then his own mother's eyes would haunt him forever.

Tears welled up in her eyes all over again. "Inuyasha…" She reached for him, and before he could stop her, her arms were around his waist. Her cheek on his chest as she sobbed. All the strength leaving her body as she sagged, forcing him to turn and lean back against the barn so they didn't both topple to the ground. His arms, at first limp at his sides, slowly coming up to rest on her shoulders. Slowly moving around her back to hold her close as his fingers threaded through her hair.

From this close proximity, he could really smell the sweet scent of her hair. And it soothed him. Soothed something within that he'd not even known needed to be soothed.

Tilting her head up at last, cheeks stained with tears, she looked at him. "Thank you."

"For what?"

She shrugged. "For being so honest." And maybe that's why she was drawn to him. Because no matter what, she knew that anything that came out of his mouth was honest. He didn't lie to her. It was refreshing after so long with her father and the other slaves.

And then she shocked both him and herself with what she did next. Rising up on her toes, trembling slightly as she looked at him, and then slowly – nervously – kissed him. Barely brushing her lips against his before abruptly she leapt back as if she'd been burned. "I-I'm sorry," she stammered. Recalling all the stories he'd been throwing at her about previous slave master's daughters and how they'd taken advantage of him.

Turning on her heel, she ran back to the house even as Inuyasha brought up a finger to his lips. Stunned by how that one simple, innocent little kiss had made him feel. He'd expected anger or irritation that she'd dare to cross all his physical boundaries…and instead he'd felt nothing but fire. Pure fire. As if someone had taken whiskey and injected it into his blood. Searing him from head to toe.

Not that it really changed anything…except no woman had ever made him feel like that before.

He probably would have gone on standing there like a fool, if he'd not abruptly heard voices and looked up to see several of the slaves grouped together and whispering as they walked back to the slave quarters. For some strange reason, that sight had him nervous. It looked like an official conversation, not just a chat. And Inuyasha hadn't organized it.

Abruptly he wondered if perhaps he and Miroku had done too good a job of inspiring the masses, and now were about to have a situation on their hands that was fully out of their control.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Author's ****Notes: **_It__'__s __time __for __the __next __installment __of __our __little __adventure! __And __time __for __a __bit __of __action, __for __all __of __you __who__'__ve __been __craving __that. __Or __at __least __this __chapter __sets __all __of __that __into __motion. __Most __of __the __meat __and __potatoes __of __this __section __will __be __more __about __some __character __development __and __building __a __bridge __into __the __next __arc __for __the __plot, __but __the __end__…__heehee. __You__'__ll __see._

_I have to say I've absolutely loved your responses to the chapters so far. All of you are really taking time to analyze the thought process of the characters, and I LOVE that! That's exactly what I hope for when I write. I'm all about the characters, in case you haven't figured that out yet. So when I get people thinking about the good and the bad of their personalities and their decisions, I feel like I've really managed to accomplish something. I'm particularly enjoying everyone's take on the overall atmosphere of the slaves on the estate. Keep it up! _

_There will be times when people make mistakes and bad choices, and I'm trying to include those here. To me it's more realistic that way; I don't want everyone always seeming to magically have all the answers. I'm trying to evolve and develop things in a believable manner. We're all fickle, imperfect beings, after all. And nothing's ever as simple or black and white as it seems. _

_So then…onward! This chapter you get to see a little more of Inuyasha, since the last few chapters have been more primarily focused on Kagome. Chapter Ten will be coming fast on the heels of this one; it's already almost finished and then simply needs to be edited. Enjoy, everyone!_

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Title: In Search of Eden

Author: dolphingirl0113

Chapter Nine

Rating: M - Violence, Language, and Sexual Situations

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. And any similarities to other existing stories is entirely unintentional and coincidental. This story is based originally on an earlier work, titled 'Impossible Dreams', and that work, like this one, belongs to me. Please do not plagiarize.

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"Where have _you_ been?"

A raised eyebrow was all Miroku received in response as Inuyasha stepped inside the slave quarters. The hanyou quickly walking through the rows of beds to the back, where he promptly sat down on a mattress that barely moved under his weight. Hard as a rock and painfully unyielding, it was a far cry from the bed he'd had as a child. But mercifully he'd moved past the constant insomnia he'd suffered in the first few years after the Great Revolution, and could now mostly ignore the pitiful excuses for beds masters usually gave their slaves.

Not to be deterred, Miroku followed his friend with a casual gait that screamed disinterest…even though Inuyasha knew after all these years there was nothing disinterested about the former monk in this kind of mood. The less interested he appeared, the more intrigued he really was.

But two could play that game.

Sprawled out on his bed, Inuyasha crossed his arms behind his head and looked up at the ceiling. "Is there something you want, Miroku?"

Deliberately ignoring his friend's clearly stated boundaries, Miroku sat down in the middle of the bed, by Inuyasha's hip. Looking at him pointedly. "I'd love to know why you've been absent from the last few meetings we've had. I'm more than happy to be your helper, but this is normally your thing."

Inuyasha closed his eyes. "I wasn't aware that there had been so many meetings to be missed."

"The slaves are excited. Restless, even." Miroku's normally ambivalent violet eyes turned serious; revealing that inner core of steel most didn't realize he possessed. "It actually surprises me how readily they've taken to your ideas. It's never been this easy before."

Huffing softly, Inuyasha still didn't open his eyes. "They weren't so excited when we first talked to them."

"True. But since the arrival of Lord Higurashi's guests…" He didn't have to finish his thoughts. Inuyasha already knew what Miroku would have said.

Ever since the arrival of the master's guests – who had brought with them news of a successful rebellion – the slaves had begun to see hope. A light at the end of a once seemingly endless tunnel of darkness. It was everything Inuyasha had ever hoped for, so Miroku was justified in seeming baffled by his friend's behavior and sudden absence from the process.

"Have you had a change of heart?" Miroku finally asked.

That got a reaction. "No!" Inuyasha's eyes flew open, harsh amber cutting through the space between them with enough force to set most people back on their heels. Thankfully Miroku wasn't so easily flustered by his friend any more, and continued to sit unmoved. "Why on earth would you ask that question?" As if he would ever be content with living his life as a slave! He'd sooner die than admit defeat and succumb to his new life.

"It's a legitimate question," his human friend threw back defiantly. "You've been all but a ghost these last few weeks. Freedom is all you've ever talked about, and yet now that it's here and practically being placed at your feet wrapped in ribbons and tied off with a bow, you're acting surprisingly passive. Or at least surprising to me." Miroku's eyes were hard. Probing. Looking for what Inuyasha wasn't telling him. "Inuyasha…if you continue to be absent, things will happen that are out of your control. You understand that, right?" At first there was no response, so he tried again. "Things already _are_ happening without your control. I've stumbled into a few meetings myself, and let me just say the topics are turning more and more bloodthirsty by the minute."

They both immediately thought of a near-riot that had occurred earlier in the week, when Taro's guests had overreacted to a slave woman in the kitchen. The woman had dropped a knife by mistake, but Mrs. Nasaki had reacted by screaming and hollering for help.

Obviously, if the rumors were true about the rebellion on the Nasaki estate, one could understand why the woman was so hair trigger. But unfortunately in this atmosphere the slaves weren't particularly forgiving. Especially since Taro Higurashi's response had been to ban all slaves from the kitchens for the remainder of the day while he investigated the matter. That meant they'd also gone without food. Now the slaves had a reason to _resent_ the Nasaki family, which only magnified itself into more resentment than ever towards the master for giving such people sanctuary in the first place.

The slaves were developing more and more of a mob mentality; and that was dangerous. Mobs never thought or acted rationally, instead acting in the heat of the moment and riding the waves of high emotion without pausing to contemplate the consequences of their actions.

With a sigh Inuyasha shifted around and sat up to drape his legs off the side of the bed. "I know." A generic statement meant to encompass many things. Because he _did_ know what Miroku said was true. It had been troubling him. All of it had been weighing heavily on his mind. And in moments like these, he missed his father. Hell…he even missed his brother. Those men had been trained soldiers; they'd understood how to command and organize and control the world around them, far better than Inuyasha ever could. "Everything's just…more complicated than I thought it would be."

Miroku raised an eyebrow. "Complicated how?"

"It's difficult to explain."

"Inuyasha…" While capable of surprisingly deep thoughts, normally taking time for reflection wasn't one of his friend's strong suits. And so Miroku almost had the urge to reach up and make sure the hanyou didn't have a fever, or anything else to explain his suddenly bizarre behavior.

He had a theory, of course. But he was hesitant to voice it out loud. Knowing what his friend's reaction would probably be. Knowing he probably wouldn't take kindly to the knowledge that there were those beginning to whisper that Inuyasha was too attached to the master's daughter to keep a clear head. People saying the pair had been spotted many times alone. And while so far no one had seem them doing anything incriminating or overly personal, the very fact that Inuyasha had been seen alone with Kagome more than once meant others were growing suspicious.

And suspicious was the only way to put it. Because regardless of how kind she was, no one seemed to trust Kagome Higurashi. She was still at the end of the day the daughter of their master; and every slave on the estate expected if lines were drawn, she would be firmly on the side of their enemies. Blood always ran thicker than water, after all; or at least that's what everyone kept saying.

How could a young girl like her possibly be expected to stand back and betray her own father? How could she possibly be expected to stand up for the slaves who wished to see her father dead? That's what they were all saying. The whispers running rampant, and stirring the pot of discontent to the point where it was ready to boil over.

The only people who seemed to be on Kagome's side were Sango and the former wolf demon prince, Kouga. Miroku had heard both of them at various moments speak up in Kagome's defense…but they were two in an otherwise angry sea of voices.

Looking at the hanyou now, Miroku tried to gauge if it was possible the rumors were true. Tried to decide if there was any chance – any, after all this time – that Inuyasha might have actually managed to get around his hatred of slave masters and their families, and bond with someone like Kagome Higurashi.

It seemed unlikely…but not impossible. Inuyasha was the kind of man who always surprised you; he never behaved in the way others expected. Like now. Miroku would have assumed the moment the fire of revolution began to spread around the estate, the hanyou would have been at the very front of the line fanning the flames. And in the beginning he had been doing just that. He'd called the first meeting even before they'd learned of the rebellion on a nearby estate, and he'd insisted freedom was possible even as the slaves had looked at him initially with doubt and fear.

Now it was as though everything had flipped on its head.

In the end, Miroku decided he needed to muster up the gumption to simply ask the direct question. "There's a rumor going around right now…that you've perhaps become attached to Kagome Higurashi."

Inuyasha snorted his apparent derision of that particular remark. "Really. Is that the latest gossip out at the well? And what gives anyone that idea?"

"Oh, this and that…" Miroku tread carefully. "You've been seen with her. Alone. Several times. And that's bound to get people wondering, don't you think?"

Now Inuyasha seemed to be purposefully keeping his face blank. Something he only did when he was trying to hide something…and he didn't do that very often. "They're all a bunch of idiots and fools, that's what I think. Did it occur to anyone that she was giving me orders to do various stupid tasks for her father?"

But Miroku's radar was officially on high alert. "She might have been…except that seems unlikely. It doesn't fit her personality, from what I've seen and what I've been told by Sango and Kouga."

"Been talking to people about me, Miroku?"

He ignored that. "No. I've been talking to people about Kagome. And imagine my surprise when I discovered that apparently that means I'm also talking about you. I thought you hated her, Inuyasha."

"And I thought you disapproved of that part of my personality."

"We're not talking about me."

The veneer of nonchalance began to fracture as Inuyasha rubbed his hands over his face before forcefully running his fingers through his hair. Looking agitated as his eyes shot around the room as though trying to spot the people who'd been talking about him. But the slave quarters were oddly empty, with nary a soul in sight besides the two of them. "It's difficult to explain, Miroku." Seemed like that was becoming his default response.

And Miroku seemed to accept that as much this time as he did the first time Inuyasha said it. "My father and grandfather were monks, who spent at least half their lives in deep spiritual meditation. You think I'm not capable of dissecting and understanding a complex situation?"

"Fine." Defeated, Inuyasha finally gave in. This truth he carried around needing to be said. "I think she has the ability to purify the diamond shards."

A visible tremor ran through Miroku's body at that revelation. "Truly? You have proof of this?"

"Not exactly…" Seeing his friend's speak-now-or-else glare, Inuyasha huffed and sat up straighter, not one to appreciate feeling interrogated. "You remember that day with the laundry, when I went to…apologize to her out by the well? At one point she touched the shard on my neck, by accident of course, and there was this moment where…where I felt _free_. And when I looked at it, the shard actually had a small pink tip for a few seconds after she left." For reasons unknown, Inuyasha didn't elaborate on how Kagome had come to touch his shard; didn't feel like sharing the fact that she'd been trying to offer him comfort. The same way he didn't feel like sharing the fact that she'd kissed him behind the barn almost two weeks ago.

Logically he'd insist it was because it didn't matter and he didn't want fools and idiots reading more into the situation than was actually there. But there was also a small, persistent voice in the back of his head insisting he was trying to protect Kagome too. Something possessive within that was screaming it was none of Miroku's damn business – or anyone else's for that matter – why he'd been with Kagome, or what they'd been doing. Just thinking about the tears on her face, and how vulnerable she'd seemed first in the herb garden and then later behind the barn was enough to leave Inuyasha feeling curiously angry towards anyone who might use those emotions against her.

Realizing abruptly that there was nothing but silence coming from the man on his right, Inuyasha glanced over to see Miroku staring at him. And his thoughts were easy to read, leaving the hanyou waving his hand through the air as if to wipe those thoughts out of existence. "I know, alright? I know what you're thinking."

"I seriously doubt that. Inuyasha, how long have you known about this?"

"I don't _know_anything, Miroku; I just suspect it might be true. I've not tried to repeat the process yet. For all I know, I was just imagining things."

"But don't you know what the implications are here if it's true? Don't you know what it would mean if Kagome really could purify the shards?" There had been rumors that such a thing was possible. But never proof. Miroku certainly hadn't ever met anyone who could purify such large stores of dark magic…if that's even what it was. No one quite understood what powered the diamond shards; they just knew those shards could repress and lock away a demon's powers, and leave a human man completely crippled.

The implications of someone who could actually _reverse_ such a process…

With a growl Inuyasha stood up. Glancing around to make sure they weren't being overheard; grateful to see the quarters were still empty, even as in the back of his mind he again noted to himself that was odd. This time of night the slaves should have been finishing their work and coming back in to rest and prepare for sleep. "Of course I know what it means, Miroku. She could be a key to changing everything!"

"So why haven't you…?"

"Because I don't want her being held as some kind of hostage, that's why. And you know full well that's what would happen." Inuyasha wiped away a wisp of hair from his forehead as he imagined everything that could possibly be done to Kagome Higurashi should the world find out what she was potentially able to do. "They'd capture her." His voice dropped. "Keep her locked away somewhere. Bring her out to purify diamond shards, and then stash her away again." Even as he spoke, his eyes seemed to be staring at something far, far away. His mind racing to imagine all manner of horrible possibilities, even as memories surfaced of his own childhood in those first early days when he'd been torn away from his family.

Miroku's eyes widened as big as saucers. Gaping at Inuyasha as if the man had suddenly stood on his head and started babbling in a foreign language. "You _do_care about her…"

"No!" Inuyasha snarled, snapping back to reality faster than the crack of a whip. "I just don't want her used like that. Because I wouldn't want to see _anyone_ used like that. Why is it so hard to believe that someone who knows what it's like to be a slave wouldn't want to see someone else go through the same thing?"

Shaking his head, Miroku looked incredulous. "It's unbelievable coming from _you_, my friend. You've been screaming for years about how the masters deserve to be beaten down and put in their places. So why have you suddenly changed your mind?"

"I haven't. Most of them deserve exactly what I have planned for them."

Miroku regarded Inuyasha in silence for a time before crossing his arms. "But not Kagome?" He was clearly watching for the man's answer. Reading far more into the situation than was comfortable for the hanyou.

Turning around so he didn't have to look at his friend's piercing gaze, Inuyasha sighed. Knowing it made no sense. Knowing it was crazy. Knowing it was insane. But also knowing he'd been thinking about it and struggling with it for days, and had come to the realization that he'd meant what he'd said to Kagome. He'd protect her. He'd keep her safe. If he could, he wouldn't let the others use her. "She reminds me of my mother," he finally admitted, barely above a whisper.

He'd thought it multiple times, but hadn't said it out loud before now. Queen Izayoi had been kind. Like Kagome she'd always tried to see the best in people, right to the very end. Insisting to her son and stepson that surely Naraku would honor the family of the fallen King and let them live in exile.

Sesshoumaru had looked at his father's human wife and said, coldly, that it was a fool's hope to wish for such a thing. Which unfortunately had proven to be true. And Izayoi had not survived long once she'd been enslaved. Inuyasha feared Kagome meeting the same fate.

Back in the present moment, Miroku was once more shaking his head. Fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. "I just don't understand this. You couldn't stand the girl when we first arrived…"

A growl escaped. "Will you shut up about what I said when we first got here? Aren't you always the one encouraging me to change my view of others?"

Miroku blinked. "Well sure, but I never thought you'd actually listen to me or follow my advice."

Inuyasha sat back down again without another word.

Miroku was quite possibly the only person in the entire world who could get Inuyasha to open up. The only person Inuyasha really trusted to keep his secrets. And yet even with him the hanyou was slow to talk, as evidenced by this little exchange. He was a closed book most of the time, and most of what Miroku knew about his friend had been learned through observation, not by any groundbreaking, heartfelt confessions. So this little window into the hanyou's thoughts was a lot for the man to digest.

But he was trying; as evidenced by the way he relaxed after another few moments and even went so far as to nudge Inuyasha with his shoulder. "Are you in love with her?" His voice was gentle as he asked, making it clear there would be no judgment if the answer was yes.

"No, you moron, I'm not in love with her. I barely know her!" The answer came quickly enough that Miroku genuinely believed it. It wasn't all bluster. But that having been said, it was also obvious that Inuyasha cared. Reasons be damned, the hanyou had come to care for Kagome Higurashi's wellbeing.

Holding up a hand in surrender, Miroku shrugged his shoulders. "Fair enough. I had to ask though. I need to know what we're getting ourselves into here."

"We?"

"Well sure. If you're going to be completely changing your tune and making life harder for yourself in the process, you'll need someone with more diplomatic skills smoothing over all the ruffled feathers you leave behind." Miroku tried to smile, but the gesture faded as he looked away. "And there will be ruffled feathers. I don't like this, Inuyasha; there's sort of a rabid fever out there right now. I don't feel as though people are truly thinking things through. There isn't any real plan. And a revolt without a plan could lead to disaster."

Inuyasha grunted. "Revolt is the first step. A necessary step. I haven't changed my thoughts about that." And Kagome's father would have to die, he added to himself. Perhaps it was a harsher fate to protect Kagome even knowing her father would be killed than to just leave her alone…but he couldn't do it. He didn't care why. He didn't care to explain himself. He just knew that he'd promised to protect her, and he'd stand by that promise.

"Yes, but what happens after that? We have all been living on estates for over a decade. Our worlds have been very compact. Very small." Miroku was looking at his hands, oddly folded in some kind of prayer. Echoes of his religious upbringing. "We don't know what waits for us beyond the borders of the estate."

"What's your point, monk?" For obvious reasons a reminder of just what he'd been forced to endure after being born the son of Inutaisho really stuck in his throat and triggered Inuyasha's temper. He didn't like being reminded of how caged in he'd been for so long. It made him restless.

Miroku's eyes were closed now as he spoke. Seeming to genuinely be praying about something. Fingers pressed against his forehead. "I'm just saying the world isn't so small as we think it is. Do you really think Naraku will simply let you lead a rebellion and not strike back?"

"Of course not. We'll fight him."

"You and who, exactly?" Miroku opened his eyes again to look at his friend. "These slaves were once noblemen. Or farmers. Most of them were never soldiers. Inuyasha, this is not the army you remember your father leading into battle. And if you'll recall, your father was defeated. So if he and his soldiers couldn't do it, what makes you think you will have more success with farmers and their pitchforks?"

Eyes bent on the floor, Inuyasha grit his teeth. Knowing his friend was only speaking with the common sense he so valued in Miroku. The man was wise beyond his years, when he chose to put aside his more common human vices (a love of drinking and of beautiful women). And to be fair, these were thoughts Inuyasha himself had entertained once or twice. More so recently than ever before, probably because for the first time it actually looked as though there might be a chance at a rebellion that could succeed.

It was part of the reason why Inuyasha hadn't been present at some of the meetings. He'd hoped his absence would keep a lid on things until he had more time to reevaluate and recalculate his plans.

He'd been wrong. All it had done was alienate him from the process, so that now he didn't exactly know what might happen next. And that was dangerous. Any revolt he'd ever imagined had always included him at the front, leading the others into battle. But more and more he was growing to recognize the problems with such a plan. Perhaps under the rule of Lord Higurashi they were all united, but if you removed that lynch pin what did they have left in common?

Absolutely nothing.

They were slaves from different backgrounds, raised with different beliefs and in different cultures, all thrown together and forced to interact. And it had worked so long as they all hated the same man. But it wouldn't last, if freedom were suddenly thrust back into their hands.

All this he'd begun to think about when he had really started to talk with Kagome. When he'd begun to know who she was. Seeing her cry for a mother he'd not even realized was dead. Forced to realize she had many of the same sorrows weighing on her heart as he carried within his own. And seeing those similarities between them made hating her nearly impossible; forcing Inuyasha to recognize that his blind resentment of her, echoed by so many on the estate, was not necessarily the answer. Realizing begrudgingly that perhaps Kouga, in this instance, was in fact the better man for managing to distinguish the daughter from the father before anyone else. (Not that he'd admit it to the wolf prince any time soon; that man had enough of an ego already.) Acknowledging that even Sango had perhaps been right to so staunchly defend her friend to anyone who would listen.

Inuyasha had hated Kagome because it was the easy thing to do. He understood that now. Liking her – or at least understanding her position – was the harder way to live. Because it forced his life into an uncomfortable gray area, the same way her attempts to understand him upset her own view of the world. Ignorance really could be blissful…but once the knowledge was there, he could no longer ignore it.

Kagome said he'd opened her eyes. Well…she'd opened his too.

As though sensing his friend's discomfort, Miroku finally lightened the mood by clapping Inuyasha on the shoulder. "It will work out, Inuyasha. We can keep her safe, if that is what you want. Personally I rather like her, so I don't mind sticking my neck out for her…a little." And he pinched his thumb and forefinger together to demonstrate how much he considered 'a little' to be.

Shaking his head, Inuyasha felt a reluctant little snort of laughter escape. "For someone who claims to care so much about what other people think, you really don't give a fuck about anyone's opinions, do you monk?"

Miroku smiled. "Not really. Although there's one person's opinion I do care about; I'm hoping by protecting her best friend, Sango might also finally give me some attention. So you see, I have some selfish reasons for doing this too. It's not all about you."

Rolling his eyes, Inuyasha stood up again and this time actually headed for the door. Feeling the need for some fresh air. "You're pathetic, you know that? Always panting after some woman or another."

"But Sango's different, Inuyasha. She really is."

"Yeah…that's probably why she's smart enough to realize you're no good."

"Ouch." Miroku playfully covered his heart with his hand. "You wound me with your words, old friend."

Stepping outside, Inuyasha inhaled the cold air of the coming winter, nearly upon them now. Which of course was another painful reminder that this might not be the best time for a revolt. Where exactly would all the slaves go for shelter in the dead of winter? Inuyasha was suddenly wishing he'd kept his big mouth shut, and at least waited until spring.

"Where exactly is your lady love?" He asked at last, in need of a distraction from his own thoughts.

"At the house, helping Kagome." Miroku nodded his head in the general direction of the house to emphasize his point.

With a slow kind of reluctance, Inuyasha turned and looked towards the massive mansion at the very epicenter of the estate. Seeing the lights from within, bright against the coming darkness of the evening, and wondering which set of windows belonged to Kagome's room. A small stirring of anger bubbling up in his blood at the thought that she was currently in that house with the Nasaki family; including that foolish boy. The one who'd looked upon Inuyasha with so much fear and resentment. The one who'd tried to drag her away.

Since that night by the barn, Inuyasha had seen the two of them together multiple times. It seemed like their two families were encouraging the young pair to spend as much time together as possible; probably in the hopes of encouraging some kind of stupid marriage. Inuyasha had seen Lady Nasaki clapping her hands in delight whenever she'd see her son with Kagome. Even Taro seemed somewhat relieved.

And Inuyasha couldn't stand to see it.

For her part, Kagome seemed numb to it all. Going through the motions when she had to, and ducking away to be on her own when she thought no one was looking. Inuyasha had nearly approached her multiple times, but had stopped himself at the last moment. Recalling the kiss, and shying away out of something that felt eerily similar to fear.

Yes…he was afraid of how that one little kiss had made him feel.

It was nothing like the outright pawing he'd been forced to endure from the daughters of other masters, of course. Nothing like the forceful kisses of those women who were eager to 'claim' such a handsome man, knowing Inuyasha had to do as they asked or else suffer the consequences.

In comparison, Kagome's action had been unbelievably chaste and innocent. Yet it had hit him with all the force of a sledge hammer. And now he was afraid of that feeling. Wanted no part of it. So he'd resolved to keep his distance. But he'd not been able to stop watching her entirely; his eyes tracking her every move. Seeing things as they truly were for her. Finally seeing why she continued to refer to her life as that of a prisoner. Noting how she was rarely left alone. How her father commanded her back to the house whenever he saw her out wandering the grounds. Seeing the way the slaves looked upon her with suspicion. Recognizing this young woman had about as much love and affection in her life as he did.

All of it solidified his resolve to somehow keep her safe in the coming storm. Feeling as though he owed her that much, in exchange for what he hoped she'd do for him by purifying his diamond shard. It's what his mother would want him to do. It was the _right_ thing to do.

"Inuyasha…where are all the others?" Miroku finally asked, pulling the hanyou back out of his thoughts.

Glancing again at the empty slave quarters, Inuyasha shrugged. "I was wondering the same thing. Probably off having another one of those meetings you keep talking about."

"Perhaps…" But the monk was looking at the house again, and this time squinting his eyes as though trying to see across a long distance. That or pluck something microscopic out of the air. "Tell me though…do you see something hazy near the house?"

"Hazy?" Inuyasha went on alert as he looked again at the estate. Seeing what he'd first assumed was just the effects of the twilight on a bit of fog. Instead realizing courtesy of a second glance that the eerie thickness in the air wasn't behaving at all the way fog normally would.

With a feeling of foreboding forming deep in his gut, Inuyasha sniffed the air. Wishing for the thousandth time he had his old enhanced senses at his disposal, but even with his dulled human senses catching the scent of smoke. And that's all he needed to know. "Shit!" Giving Miroku a harsh shove towards the estate, he took off at a run. "Come on! The mansion's on fire!"

And there was a high likelihood Kagome was inside.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Author's ****Notes: **_Oh __man__…__this __is __a __long __chapter. __I __kept __looking __for __places __to __chop __it __up __and __make __it __perhaps __more __digestible, __but __in __the __end __the __conclusion __I __came __to __was __that __for __the __sake __of __the __plot, __and __the __immersion __into __the __character__'__s __lives, __it __had __to __stay __this __long. __Why? __For __one __simple __reason: __I __want __you, __the __readers, __to __feel __how __long __and __endless __the __night __is __for __Kagome. __So __if __it __feels __like __I__'__m __throwing __things __at __you __right __and __left, __that__'__s __because __I __kind __of __am._

_If you don't like angst, then consider this your warning to plug your nose. This chapter, in a sense, is the end of the first small arc in the larger plot of the story, and it's a necessary bridge to cross. If it's any consolation, there are at least a few moments of subtle Inuyasha/Kagome fluff…so take solace in that! _

_And on that note, here's Chapter Ten! Thanks as always for all the comments and reviews, they're much appreciated. Chapter Eleven is coming soon, so things will move forward fairly quickly. I won't leave people hanging too long. Cheers!_

* * *

Title: In Search of Eden

Author: dolphingirl0113

Chapter Ten

Rating: M - Violence, Language, and Sexual Situations

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. And any similarities to other existing stories is entirely unintentional and coincidental. This story is based originally on an earlier work, titled 'Impossible Dreams', and that work, like this one, belongs to me. Please do not plagiarize.

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The Nasaki family's presence seemed to stifle the air within the house, and Kagome had reached the conclusion that she'd be grateful to see them leave as soon as possible. Even her father seemed to agree with her; the pair of them clearly having grown accustomed to solitude and now chafing as a result under the constant requirements of 'entertaining' their guests. In an odd way, it was bringing them closer by giving them something in common, and once or twice Kagome had actually nearly smiled when her father had looked at her across the room and rolled his eyes in response to something Lady Nasaki or her husband might have said.

In those moments, Kagome was reminded of the man he'd once been. Vague shadows and echoes from her past. Even leaving her with a few moments where she almost expected her mother to come walking through the doors from the kitchen…only to have reality crash back in around her as her father once more retreated behind his indifferent mask. Kagome left to fend for herself against Lady Nasaki's constant onslaught of less-than-subtle hints about her hopes for a union between Kagome and her son.

For his part, Hojo seemed inclined to agree with his mother, and did his best to woo and court Kagome in every way he knew how under their present circumstances. But it all felt ridiculously stilted and false, and Kagome knew Hojo didn't love her. Rather he was playing the part of the dutiful son for his mother, the way he always had. Doing what he believed she would wish him to do, and nothing more. He cared about Kagome, he'd said as much…but he didn't love her. And Kagome knew even if the world had been different and there hadn't been so much danger, the marriage her mother had sometimes dreamed of when she was a little girl would never happen.

She wanted to marry for love. And if she couldn't have love, then she wouldn't marry at all. Hojo was a good man, all in all, but he regarded her with about as much affection as a man might feel towards a trusty old rocking chair: dependable and comfortable, but hardly exotic. To Kagome, that wasn't nearly enough to sustain a marriage. So she endured the attention and the subtle hints with as much eloquence and politeness as she could muster, all while firmly keeping the Nasaki family at arm's length.

And for his part, Taro Higurashi kept himself distant from the whole proceedings. Refusing to speak about his slaves or the running of his estate with his guests, even when Lord Nasaki would ask pointed or direct questions. It was something Kagome had always noticed about her father; the way he purposefully kept his life private from anyone, even the other guests he'd entertained over the years since the Great Revolution. Some of it was just who he was, of course…he'd always been a private man. But some of it was new. If Kagome didn't know any better she'd say he looked downright uncomfortable sitting there beside Hojo's father, listening to the other man spout off about slaves and the revolt and the necessity of ruling with a firm hand. And in fact, if she really thought about it, she supposed he'd _always_ looked uncomfortable when discussing such things.

Now, sitting in her room and attempting to focus on the needle she was using to sew up a hole in one of her more well-worn dresses, Kagome couldn't help but wonder what that meant. Trying to decipher the utter mystery that was her father, and wondering if she'd ever really known him at all, or if it had always been her mother who'd been their interpreter. Wishing for the thousandth time that Megumi was there to offer her advice and try to smooth over the rough edges and cracks and crevices of the relationship between her daughter and her husband.

It was true of course that Kagome was more like her father than she'd ever been like her mother. She had his temper, and his passionate nature. All things she tended to keep buried deep within most of the time, because she chafed under the knowledge that she was so similar to a man she'd so ardently disliked all these years. But like all truths, it was impossible to ignore that reality here in the privacy of her room. She even looked like him; she had his eyes and his hair.

So then why was it so impossible for the two of them to reach any sort of common ground? Why was it so impossible for Kagome to understand this man she'd lived with all her life?

"Ouch!" Poking herself with the needle, Kagome reflexively pulled her finger back and popped it into her mouth. The metallic taste of blood now on her tongue as she set her dress aside and stood up to stretch.

She'd holed herself up in her room for most of the day, and could admit that it was mostly because she was hiding from her guests. She wasn't sure how many more subtle little innuendos she could handle from Lady Nasaki before she lost that infamous temper of hers, and she also worried sometimes that Hojo was going to at any moment get a bit more aggressive with his wooing. The man was nothing if not a good and diligent son, willing to do whatever it took to obey his parents.

That's all she needed…

A knock on the door drew her attention away from her thoughts. "Yes?" The door opened to reveal Sango, with the somewhat hesitant expression she'd been wearing on her face since their conversation several weeks ago. Kagome hated the distance that had sprouted up between them, and did her best to smooth it over with a smile. "What is it, Sango?"

The brunette looked around the room, and spotted the half-mended dress before giving Kagome a look loaded with regret. "I was going to do that, Kagome." It was obvious most of her regret had absolutely nothing to do with a dress and everything to do with the fact that she disliked the chasm between them as much as Kagome did.

Waving a hand through the air as though that would also magically wipe away all the tension and the uncertainty, Kagome again offered another smile. "It's alright, I can manage. I do know how to sew, after all, contrary to what most people think." She'd meant it as a joke, but it came off stilted, and Sango actually winced slightly, obviously taking it as a barbed reference to their argument from before. Kagome mentally cursed herself for managing to be so insensitive. "Look, Sango…"

"It's fine. It's alright, I know what you meant." She'd not yet moved into the room, and Kagome hadn't yet moved from where she stood by the chair at the fireplace.

Frustrated tears threatened at the corners of her eyes, but Kagome furiously shoved them away. "Was there something you needed?" She again repeated her original question.

Sango shook her head to bring herself back to reality. "Only to let you know I was heading out for the night." And yet her feet didn't move, her heart screaming that she had to mend this rift with her best friend first…except no further words came out.

Sango was clearly a woman at a complete loss for what to do or say; regretting ever having hurt Kagome, or herself, by unintentionally drawing so much attention to the difference in their stations. Wishing now she could take that entire conversation back and start over. Except…what could she have said differently? Perhaps she could have reassured Kagome that any resentment she had towards Taro Higurashi was not also directed at Kagome herself. That would have helped, since Sango now realized on further reflection she'd not clarified her feelings in the slightest. And undoubtedly, after so many years together with love and companionship between them, her harsher feelings had come as a shock. That had been unfair.

And now here they were…two friends who'd known one another since they were babies, suddenly with nothing to say. It hurt. There was an ache below her ribs in the vicinity of her heart that left Sango feeling downright ill. And Kagome wasn't any better.

"Well…I hope you sleep well," Kagome finally managed to say. Perhaps a foolish, stilted wish knowing full well the slave quarters hardly qualified as luxurious accommodations. But Sango simply nodded her head rather than making a sarcastic remark about it, and then turned to leave.

Watching as the door closed behind her friend, Kagome shook her head and turned back around to face the dress. Not entirely sure she felt like returning to mending it. Looking at the four walls of her bedroom and feeling claustrophobic, with a sudden urge to get away. To get out into the fresh air of the evening and walk for a while, so as to clear her head and gather her thoughts. But the voices she heard in the hallway kept her from moving, not in the mood to socialize with the Nasakis. And even when she heard her father's voice asking where she was, Kagome refused to step outside.

Slowly the noise died away as people prepared for sleep; the early nights of winter driving everyone into their beds earlier. That and the cold seeping between the floorboards and through the windows with a persistent chill that had everyone shivering and diving beneath their blankets. The numerous fireplaces lit throughout the house couldn't seem to keep anything warm for long. Kagome wouldn't say it out loud, but it was all the additions to the mansion that made it so impossible to heat now. It was too big a space, and in the winter she and her father were always forced to hole up in either one of the main sitting rooms with a large fireplace, or in their private bedrooms.

As if on cue, Kagome shivered and moved over to a large wardrobe closet. Pulling down a lined robe her father had given her the previous year and slipping it around her shoulders. Normally on principle she refused to wear the gifts he bought for her, but in this instance Kagome decided she'd live to fight another day rather than freeze to death.

Picking up a book from one of her shelves, she took up a seat in the rocking chair she always kept by the fireplace. Opening up to page one, and barely making it through the first paragraph before she at last began to feel warmth steeling through her body and settling in the very marrow of her bones. Kagome's eyes drooped. She'd not been sleeping, and at long last that reality was clearly catching up with her, wrapped up as she was in a robe and thick socks, rocking back and forth by a roaring fire. Winter's chill mercifully kept at bay.

Absently, she thought about the men and women – including Sango – who were undoubtedly freezing out in the slave quarters. Felt a brief, distant pang of guilt. And then drifted off to sleep, unable to fight the demands of her body a moment longer.

The first thing she noticed as she woke up – minutes or hours later, she had no idea how long she'd been asleep – was the thick, suffocating smell of smoke. Sneezing as she wiped at her nose, which was burning acutely as she inhaled the noxious fumes into her lungs. Eyes watering as she grumbled and sat up straight in the rocking chair, dazed and confused. Her first thought was that somehow the fire had gone out while she was asleep, and now was filling her room with smoke. Except upon further reflection, that theory made absolutely no sense, since that's what the chimney was for.

Perhaps it was blocked by something? When was the last time it had been swept?

Slowly coming back to reality, Kagome began to realize that the amount of smoke and haze in her room was far thicker than anything that should have been produced by her tiny little fire, malfunctioning chimney or not. And that's when she began to worry. Wondering what on earth was happening as she stood up and tugged the lapels of her robe closer around her body and rubbed at her burning eyes again.

Coughing, she moved to her windows and threw them open, hoping for a little bit of fresh air. Not really thinking about the wisdom of her actions, with her mind still fuzzy from sleep. And unfortunately instead of relief the open window seemed to act like a vortex, sucking more smoke into her room even as it also rushed outside. Causing her to cough harder as she brought a hand up to cover her mouth, looking around to find the source of all the smoke. Abruptly Kagome realized with a cold ball of fear lodged in her throat that the smoke was coming from under the door leading into the hallway.

What was going on? Was something in the main house on fire?

Stumbling towards the door, she thought about opening it and finding out what was going on but paused when the sound of voices began to reach her ears, and Kagome realized they were coming from outside. Moving back to her window, she coughed when smoke slapped her in the face even as she tried to peer out into the semi-darkness of the night. Seeing various forms scurrying about on the ground, in what appeared to be an utterly chaotic mess. But all of them, at various points, were gesturing at the house.

A silver head of hair caught her attention, and Kagome saw Inuyasha running towards the house with Miroku at his side. The pair of them seeming to be shouting at various other slaves…some of whom appeared to be listening, while others seemed to be ignoring whatever it was they were saying. "Inuyasha?" She called out from the window, and the silver head turned towards her as the two men reached the house. Standing just below her window, she couldn't make out all the features of his face through the smoke from the second floor, but Kagome could have sworn she felt those amber eyes pierce straight through her with genuine concern.

"Kagome!" The voice was not his that spoke; it was Sango's, the poor woman practically screaming with fear as she came to a stop beside Miroku. "I'm coming up! You stay right there!" And the woman even seemed to move towards the house, before Miroku snatched her arm and held her firmly in place. Saying something to her that Kagome couldn't hear, but also seeing her friend didn't care for it as she literally slapped the man upside the head and tried to make for the house again. For his part, Miroku showed an impressive amount of strength and persistence as he refused to let go no matter how many times the warrior woman pummeled him to get free.

For the second time in her life Kagome understood true, cold-blooded fear; standing there in her room, on the second floor of a large house she now understood to be on fire. Too far above the ground to jump to safety, and also potentially at serious risk now if she tried to open her door and get out through the hallway. Obviously the rest of the house was burning, if Miroku was that determined to keep Sango from rushing inside.

Her eyes again returned to Inuyasha's face. Coughing as she inhaled more smoke, feeling as though the carbon monoxide was searing her chest from the inside out. Trying to understand the look that was currently on his face, as she'd swear the man actually looked worried…for her.

All around him, slaves were running about in complete chaos. At this point, whether or not the fire had been intentional was the last thing on Kagome's mind…and anyway it was impossible to tell. Because while some of the slaves did seem to be ignoring the fact that the mansion was on fire, others had actually formed a bucket line from the well and were running water back and forth in their best attempt to keep things from escalating into a complete disaster.

Again she looked at Inuyasa. Recalling abruptly the kiss she'd given him behind the barn. Suddenly glad she had, as she wondered if that would be the only kiss she'd ever give a man. Strangely grateful he was the one she'd given it to.

As if reading her thoughts, abruptly Inuyasha scowled as anger flared in his eyes. "Don't you dare look at me like that!" Kagome had no idea how she'd been looking, but apparently he'd not liked it. "I'm coming up, you here me? You just wait for me!" Looking around, it was clear he was now assessing the situation as he began to circle around the house until he was out of Kagome's line of sight. For which she was incredibly sorry…because seeing him gave her hope.

Dissolving into a fit of coughs, Kagome tried to swipe at the smoke that was turning from hazy to black around her. Wishing she could decide if trying for the door was a wise decision or not. Wondering if she'd rather at least take her chances with any flames inside the house, than just sit in her room waiting to burn alive.

Inuyasha had told her to wait for him…but could she? Kagome didn't doubt his sincerity; he looked intent as he'd walked away. She genuinely believed he was going to do everything in his power to get inside and help her. But could he do it in time? That was the main problem. And what would make her a bigger fool at this point, waiting for him and dying in the process, or dying while at least trying to get out?

"Kagome…you stay right there," Sango said, as if reading her friend's intentions. Still struggling against Miroku, who was still holding her furiously against his chest, his arms now wrapped solidly around her body and clearly refusing to let go. "Don't leave! You wait for Inuyasha!"

Wanting to do as her friend asked, Kagome took a deep breath to calm herself…and instantly regretted it. Coughing as her lungs burned from inhaling so much smoke. And that was when she heard it: a voice calling to her from inside the house. Her father's voice, along with many other voices, some of them angry. Her blood running cold as she realized he was fighting with some of the slaves.

Leaving the window, Kagome rushed to the door. Grabbing for the handle and releasing it with a shriek as she felt the metal burn her hand. Still, she could hear Taro's voice, and what she heard caused her blood to run cold.

"You will let me go now! My daughter's up there!" She heard the anger in his voice, genuine and fierce. "Kagome! Are you alright?" He was clearly calling for her. Wanting her to answer.

It was the first time in almost a decade where Kagome actually heard genuine fear and love in her father's voice, and it was her undoing, all rational thought fleeing as she grit her teeth and gripped the searing hot door knob in her hand, yanking as she threw the heavy wooden door wide open. Immediately regretting the decision as hungry flames leapt inside; the glass of her windows shattering behind her as she screamed and leapt back, staring in wide-eyed horror at the wall of fire keeping her trapped inside.

Heat.

So much heat. And so much smoke.

But once the shock died away, Kagome managed to gather her thoughts and see that the flames had receded somewhat after their initial assault; just enough for her to slip out the door and into the hallway. Immediately greeted by angry orange-red flames licking and nipping at her heels as she ran quickly down the hall. The expensive rugs her father had so prided himself on now spelling her doom, as they seemed to light up faster than kindling in a hearth, leaving Kagome with little room to maneuver.

Still, she followed the sound of her father's voice with a stubborn sort of determination. Refusing to abandon him now as she heard him continuing to fight and call for her. "I'm up here!" She finally managed to answer back as she reached the top of the stairs, her voice breaking, already going hoarse.

Through the fire she saw him; Taro Higurashi, surrounded by four angry looking slaves, and ignoring the threat of them all as his eyes immediately went up to see her; relief present in a gaze that was the same cobalt blue as her own. Heart swelling with emotion, Kagome looked at the slaves and noticed to her horror that they were armed. Or at least armed in the sense that they had blunt objects in their hands, with enough force to cause damage if they truly wanted to. And it also forced her to realize Taro himself was badly bruised, clearly having withstood quite a beating already.

Something primal rose up within at the thought of someone harming her father, and Kagome looked at the slaves in desperation. She knew they hated him. Knew they wanted him dead. But she wouldn't stand by and let them murder him in cold blood. "Leave him alone! Please, just leave the estate if it's what you want…but leave him be." Even standing at the top of a burning staircase, her own life in danger, Kagome instead found herself begging for her father's life. Knowing full well those slaves could kill him right now if they chose. There were enough of them to more than get the job done, and as Kagome's eyes quickly scanned the room she felt a sickening drop in the pit of her stomach as she saw a pair of boots sticking out from behind a burning couch…realizing these slaves probably already had exercised their newfound power on Hojo's father.

She prayed she didn't have to see the rest of him, unsure if she could stomach it.

"Kagome, get out of here! Just go!" Taro seemed more focused on his daughter than on the threat to his own safety, but unfortunately even if she wanted to leave, it was becoming increasingly difficult to see how to get down the stairs. Fire was absolutely everywhere.

Panicked, Kagome looked to the slaves for help…but knew instantly there would be no salvation there. Pure hatred was all she saw in their eyes, and clearly the fact that she'd begged for Taro's life had cemented her own fate. They would not help her…although self-preservation did at last seem to kick in as the four men dropped their weapons and ran for the nearest exit. Obviously deciding vengeance of any kind wasn't worth their demise in a burning house.

"Papa…" Kagome held out her arms to try and reach for him. Hoping he could somehow help her over the flames. Hoping he might catch her up in his arms the way he once did, when she was a child. And to his credit, Taro Higurashi tried. Moving as close as he dared. His clothes singed as he tried to grasp at his daughter's outstretched arms. But it was no use. The flames were only growing larger, and worse yet, the stairs were beginning to creak as though at any moment they would give way under her weight. Beneath the main level of the house was a large cellar. If the stairs went, Kagome would fall ultimately to her death.

Seeming to realize this as he heard the creaking, sickening sounds of cracking wood and strained beams that were bending more and more under the weight of the crumbling mansion, Taro made a choice. His eyes alight with determination and purpose as he stepped closer, gaze never leaving the terrified face of his daughter. Knowing he would save her, even if it meant his own life. He'd already done so before, figuratively; had already given his life and his happiness up so that she might survive. And now he would happily die literally, if it meant she could live.

When his wife had been murdered, Taro Higurashi's entire world had been absorbed by his daughter; willing to do anything and everything required of him to keep her alive, even if it meant appeasing Naraku by taking in slaves. He would have been damned before he allowed his beautiful child to be enslaved, or worse…killed. For better or worse, he'd done what was necessary to protect her, and he made no apologies for it.

Now was no different. He'd be damned if so much sacrifice and torment would be wasted in these final few moments.

"Grab onto me, Kagome!" He called out.

Seeing him coming closer, Kagome's eyes widened. "No! What are you doing? You'll be burned! Get out of here!"

Taro ignored his daughter, and with a courage and conviction that seemed to rival that of an avenging angel from heaven, handsome face carved into a single line of determination, he stepped into the flames. Feeling as they licked at his body, and ignoring Kagome's screams of protest as he grabbed onto his daughter and lifted her quickly over the fire before practically flinging her to the ground.

"No! Papa! You…you're burning!" Kagome scrambled onto her feet even as she watched in helpless desperation as the flames caught her father's clothes. Practically melting them onto his body. Moving across his face and into his hair. Knowing of nothing else she could do except to remove her own robe and throw it around him as she tried to extinguish the flames…except she barely got started before he was shoving her away.

"Get out of here, Kagome! Get outside!" His voice was stern. Implacable. Brokering no argument.

"You're coming with me!" She shouted back. Except her voice was going hoarse from all the smoke inhalation. All around them the house crumbling, the stairs where she'd only just stood a moment ago collapsing and falling away even as bits of the ceiling began to crumble to the ground. Still she persisted, and tried again to help extinguish the flames on his body, feeling the heat of the fire and trying to avoid being burned herself.

But Taro would have none of it. With one final shove, he sent her towards the door, his face lined with pain. "Get _out_ of here. Please." And perhaps it was the desperation in his voice and his eyes that finally forced Kagome's legs to move, hoping perhaps she could find a way out for them both if she moved fast enough.

Turning, she headed for the nearest door…but just as she reached it, everything on that wall collapsed and Kagome recoiled with a scream. Whirling around to try and find another way out. Seeing nothing save the figure of her father, who had now collapsed to the ground, writhing in a futile attempt to put out the flames on his body. Or perhaps he was just writhing in pain.

She didn't know what to do.

"KAGOME!"

Everything in that instant slowed down as Kagome turned in the direction of the voice. Seeing Inuyasha move quickly through the flames leading into the kitchens, his red jacket up around his head and miraculously seeming to somehow be repelling the flames. "Inuyasha!" She called back to him; except instead of a yell her voice was nothing but a hoarse whisper, and she worried he'd not be able to hear her.

But in the end he found her. Seeing her across the room and moving towards her without a moment's hesitation. Reaching her side and throwing his own jacket around her body, covering her head as his scent surrounded her and gave her the sense, for the first time since all this had happened, that she just might survive. "Let's go!" He said, an arm confident around her waist as he steered her back the way he'd come. "There's a little pocket over here we can get through. But we have to move fast!"

His voice wasn't hoarse at all; it was strong and sure. And Kagome knew she'd follow it anywhere in that instant.

Except…

"My father!" She turned and looked at the body of Taro, covered with her robe in her pathetic attempt to protect him from the fire. He wasn't moving any more. "Please…we can't leave him!"

Inuyasha seemed torn, but in the end on a curse he moved and lifted the human man off the ground. Throwing him without much ceremony over his shoulder, and to Kagome's relief Taro actually seemed to groan softly as if he were still alive.

Looking at her again, Inuyasha moved behind her this time and steered her forward. "This way. When I say run, you run. Don't hesitate for even one second. You have to trust me."

Kagome found herself facing yet another wall of fire, and couldn't see how there was any chance that there was a way out. Every instinct in her body said to run away and find another exit, or at the very least barrel through the fire and just get the pain and misery over with. But somehow she managed to keep her feet firmly rooted to the ground, refusing to give in to blind fear as she instead felt the reassuring presence of Inuyasha behind her.

She wasn't alone. He'd said he would come for her, and he had.

So she waited.

Finally, when she began to wonder if the moment would ever come, Inuyasha hollered at her to move, and even though it went against every survival instinct she possessed to move _towards_ those angry orange-red flames, Kagome did as he said. Without hesitation barreling forward. Closing her eyes and simply running; bursting through the fire and stumbling out into the yard as fresh air assaulted her abused lungs, telling her she'd managed to get safely outside.

Tripping and stumbling, in the end she fell to her knees with a startled little cry. Hands immediately going to her shoulders and hauling her back up again. Looking up to see Kouga's clear blue eyes, his normally smiling mouth set in a line of anger as he shoved her onward. Not saying a word, but firm in his obvious insistence that she had to keep moving, and so Kagome did. Still feeling Inuyasha behind her as they all ran from the house, finally stopping as Kagome turned to see the home of her childhood – a place of such joy and such sorrow – give way under the strain of the fire and, with a final groan, collapse on itself.

And then there was silence.

Everything had happened so quickly, and no one seemed to know what to say or do as Kagome stood alone staring at the smoldering pile of rubble while all around her slaves seemed utterly confused and unsure of what to do next. It was clear that while perhaps some had planned the attack, others had not, because there were just as many slaves with stunned, lost looks on their faces as Kagome knew was imprinted on her own. Some of them even started to approach Kagome, as though instinctively trying to offer comfort…but they were all rebuffed when Kouga growled at them in warning from his vantage point off her left shoulder. Clearly not trusting their motives.

For her part, Kagome was suddenly numb to it all, feeling nothing as she tried to take stock of where she was and what would possibly happen next.

"Oh God, Kagome!" Sango barreled past Kouga and threw her arms around her friend, squeezing tight enough that Kagome swore she felt her ribs crack. "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't know…I swear I didn't know this was going to happen!" It seemed like that's all the woman could say, but the genuine affection and emotion stirred something within and Kagome found herself responding as her arms went around her friend.

"I believe you," she whispered, not because she was trying to be dramatic but simply because that's all the volume her voice had at the moment, her vocal chords having taken quite a beating thanks to all the exposure to the smoke. "I believe you, Sango." She could sense her friend needed that reassurance, and Kagome was only too happy to give it, because it was the truth. Whatever their differences, Kagome knew that Sango would have never intentionally left her friend in danger. That's not how she worked; she was far more direct than that. She believed in attacking an enemy from the front, not from behind…and anyway, despite any misunderstandings between them, they were not enemies. They were just friends who'd hit a rough patch.

Abruptly the sound of a groan caught Kagome's attention, and she turned with a sickening drop in her stomach to see Inuyasha laying her father down on the ground. Some of the numb feelings vanishing as she pushed away from Sango and rushed forward, falling to her knees beside him. Inuyasha simultaneously moved away as though sensing it wasn't his place to intrude on what was possibly the last interaction Kagome would have with her father, but he, along with Kouga, Miroku, and Sango, stayed close. Watching the other slaves with caution, as though waiting to see if another shoe might drop after all.

For her part, Kagome remained oblivious to all but the man on the ground. "Papa?"

He didn't even look like the father she knew any more. His handsome face charred beyond recognition. Tiny patches of hair all that was left on his head, where once he'd sported a thick mass of ebony locks barely fringed by gray. His clothes seemed like they were all but glued to his body, and anywhere she could see skin, it was nearly black, blotched and mixed with a sickeningly deep reddish yellow tint. The skin itself seemed so unbelievably damaged that Kagome was afraid to touch him, except unbelievably enough when she brushed her fingers over his face he didn't react at all. Nothing left of the nerves on the superficial levels of his skin that might have enabled him to feel.

Then again, perhaps that was a good thing, she decided.

Tears burned at the corners of her eyes. Kagome wanted to hold him; wanted to offer this man some sort of comfort, a man who had been such a mystery to her, and yet such a constant presence in her life, since the day she was born. But there was nothing she could do, because even as she instinctively wanted to hold him close, she knew that would probably only make things worse for him in the end. She truly didn't know what to do.

Taro's eyes opened, and cobalt blue met cobalt blue as Kagome fell into a gaze that was nearly identical to her own. She'd always resembled her father far more than she'd resembled her mother, something he'd often remarked on when Megumi had still been alive. Joking that he would have been happy to have a daughter who looked as beautiful as her mother, even as Megumi had always insisted she preferred a child who embodied everything she loved about her husband.

All those memories echoed in her mind as Kagome looked at him. Hearing in her mind the hushed conversations her parents often had when they thought their daughter wasn't paying attention; feeling the love they'd send her way as they looked at her. That love was there again, for the first time in years, as Taro looked at her now. Swallowing as he tried to speak, his body trembling with shivers as though he were impossibly cold. "Ka…go…me…"

She shook her head. "Don't try to talk. We have to get you some help, okay? You just need to rest."

But Taro didn't seem to be paying attention to what she was saying. The shivers increasing in strength and intensity as his teeth literally began to chatter. "I'm s…sor…ry…" He swallowed, and tried again. "All…for you. Wouldn't l-let you…die…"

"Papa, please…" Kagome knew he was saying goodbye – knew this was very possibly the last time she would hear his voice – and in that instant she was forced to recognize the finality of death all over again. The same way she'd been forced to recognize it all those years ago when her mother had died. Feeling, painfully heavy on her heart, all the conversations she still hadn't had with him – all the unresolved issues – and knowing now those conversations were impossible; regrets weighing her down as she tried to stay present in the moment, not wanting to miss one second of what he had to say to her. But it was impossible not to be thinking of all the resentments and frustrations and barriers that had existed between them, and realizing she was too late to resolve any of it now.

Like every mortal being, she'd taken for granted the fact that she had plenty of time to talk to him. And now Fate was stripping that chance away from her forever, leaving her with nothing but a deep chasm that would never quite be breached between herself and her father. So many questions…and no time to ask them or have them answered.

The shivers overtook him for a time, and Kagome simply sat with him. Gingerly cradling his fingers within her own, and watching for signs of discomfort, but seeing none as instead he simply looked at her. She looked back, hoping perhaps her presence could offer him some small piece of comfort. Wanting him to know that he wasn't alone.

For his part, Taro seemed to be trying repeatedly to say something. And finally he did; barely a whisper, forcing Kagome to lean forward and put her ear close to his lips. "F-Forg-give me?"

It was like a knife had plunged into her heart, grief holding her in a vice-like grip as she struggled to breathe.

Squeezing her eyes closed, Kagome remained where she was as she gathered her thoughts. Not wanting him to see the look in her eyes, or the massive levels of guilt weighing her down as she shook her head once, not at him, but at her own folly. Cursing her foolish, youthful self-righteousness and realizing she'd been just as guilty, in how she'd perceived him, as she'd felt the slaves had been in how they'd viewed her. Refusing to see him as a complex human being with any number of motivations for doing what he'd done, and instead only seeing him as the man who'd seemingly betrayed her mother by taking slaves.

She still didn't fully understand him, but in such a moment as this she was at least forced to acknowledge that she had been too quick to judge him harshly without giving him a chance to explain. She'd cut him out of her life without any chance for redemption, even as he'd done nothing but try and protect her. Whether his methods had been fair or honest was another matter entirely, but he _had_ done it to keep her safe, and in return she'd isolated him without even trying to understand.

Just like so many things, she'd tried to do the right thing and in the end had only made a bad situation worse. Her youth and inexperience blinding her to the true, harsh realities of the world she lived in, and as a result she'd lost years with her father she would never be able to get back.

Shame…that's all she felt now. Pure shame.

Leaning back once she was sure she had control of her emotions, Kagome gave him a watery smile. "Of course I forgive you," she said with a certainty in her voice that revealed nothing of her inner turmoil. Knowing she meant it too. Knowing that, despite everything that had happened, here with eternity before both of them Kagome forgave him for everything because at the end of the day she still loved him. He was her father, and his last act of love had been to save her life by sacrificing his. How could she not grant him forgiveness now?

That seemed to satisfy him, as he relaxed his body against the shivers. Finding one last bit of strength as he looked at her. "My girl." Taro attempted to smile, but the action was stilted and difficult to see given the current state of his face. "I love you." There was no stuttering or stammering as he spoke that time, but it was as though those few words had robbed what little strength he had left, and Taro sank into the ground as his eyes closed.

He wouldn't open them again.

Kagome sat with him in silence, watching his labored breathing grow shallower and shallower. She didn't know how long she remained on the ground – it could have been minutes or hours – but she didn't move once. Diligently and stubbornly refusing to leave him, even though every piece of her wanted to run and hide from what she was seeing, not wanting to be branded forever with memories of her father literally dying before her eyes. She stayed, and held his hand and whispered to him whenever he seemed to grow agitated. And even though he didn't respond to her, every time she spoke he seemed to calm, which gave her hope that perhaps at least she was giving him some piece of comfort.

Until finally there was a moment where, counting the seconds between his breaths, she realized nearly a minute had gone by.

Taro Higurashi was dead.

Kagome repeated the thought over and over in her mind as she tried to understand what that meant. There should have been tears, but shock seemed to be holding them at bay. Maybe it was just a delayed reaction. Perhaps her eyes were too swollen and red from the fire to cry. Or perhaps it was simply that she'd seen this all before, and had cried all her tears the night when her mother had died. Whatever the reason, her eyes remained dry and not a single sound escaped her lips. There was simply silence.

Staring at the body of her father, Kagome slowly – carefully – untangled her fingers from his once they began to grow cold, placing his hand on his abdomen. Her gaze as she looked at him was unreadable, trying desperately to equate this deformed, burned body with all the memories of her proud, handsome father. Trying to reconcile the fact that he was dead with the fact that only that morning she'd seen him at the breakfast table with his usual plate of bread, cheese, and sausage, pouring over reports and doing his best to ignore Lord Nasaki's attempts at a conversation.

The Nasaki family…

Kagome felt the certainty that they were all surely dead weigh on her heart as she sat back on her heels and took stock of her surroundings. Recalling the sight of Lord Nasaki's boots from behind the burning couch, as she finally became aware of the fact that she was the focus of attention of many people around her, turning to find familiar faces – Kouga and Sango – intertwined with the faces of those she didn't recognize at all. Some of the slaves had remained to watch the macabre scene unfolding between father and daughter, the expressions on their faces all over the map. Some seemed horrified by what had happened, others appeared to be in varying degrees of shock, and others still almost begrudgingly looked upon Taro's body with a grim satisfaction.

Where had the slaves gone who'd attacked her father? Were they responsible for the fire too? Or had that truly been an accident that had gotten out of control?

Kagome honestly didn't know.

Deciding she needed to stand up, if only so she wouldn't feel like she was at such a disadvantage with others towering over her, Kagome realized as she moved she was still wearing Inuyasha's jacket. Slipping out of it once she was on her feet and looking for him to give it back, only to turn and realize with a startled tremor that he had been standing right behind her the entire time. His eyes trained on those around them in warning, clearly ready to protect her if it was necessary. The sight surprised her, since this was the same man who'd seemed to look on her with so much hatred when he'd first arrived on her father's estate a few months ago…but much had changed. And Kagome no longer cared why, she just knew that having him there made her feel safe.

_I'll protect you._

That's what he'd said, and she realized now he'd meant it. He'd come for her in the house, and even now he was standing guard. In a world where she abruptly felt alone, he was making everything seem ever so slightly better.

Offering him the jacket, Inuyasha silently shook his head before taking the red coat and once more setting it about her shoulders. Saying nothing, but making it clear he wanted her to use it as a shield against the cold, causing Kagome to realize, belatedly, that she was shivering; wearing nothing but a thin nightgown and a pair of fuzzy socks, her robe still wrapped around her father's body. And there was no way she wanted it back now.

She was freezing!

"Hojo?" She asked out loud, her voice cracking with her throat raw and sore as she tried to speak. But she had to ask; partly because she needed to know if her childhood friend was still alive, and partly because asking a question that had an easy yes or no answer made her feel better.

Inuyasha seemed to understand as he shook his head in a simple, pragmatic response. "I found him dead under what looked like a door that fell on top of him." The answer was perhaps blunt, but on the other hand right about then Kagome was grateful for it as she nodded her head once. At least it told her something she'd not known before, and in a world suddenly filled with unknowns, it was something to be grateful for.

The sound of voices seemed to wake up the crowd around them, and Kagome felt the beginnings of whispers vibrate in the air. The slaves clearly looking to one another and trying to decide what they should do next, recognizing that now there was no house, no kitchens, it was winter, and their best hope for shelter was the slave quarters.

For a time, Kagome actually felt somewhat invisible, and she was glad of it. Letting the others quibble amongst themselves about where to go from here while she returned to her father and tried to figure out how to move him. Knowing there was only one place he belonged, and that was buried beside her mother, and also feeling as though she needed to do it sooner rather than later while she was still somewhat numb. Worried that if she waited too long, and grief overtook reason, she might not be able to do what needed to be done. The shock wouldn't last forever, and she had to capitalize on it for as long as she possibly could.

Kagome heard footsteps beside her, and looked up to see Kouga, Sango, and Miroku looking at her with nothing but sympathy in their eyes. She looked back with wide eyes filled with confusion, clearly at a loss for where to begin. In response, they bent down almost in unison and picked up their former master's body with a surprising level of care and consideration. "Where would you like him?" Miroku asked, his violet eyes kind.

That kindness was nearly her undoing, but Kagome shook off all hesitation as she pointed towards the herb garden beyond the pile of rubble that had once been the house. Refusing to give in, yet, to the pain or the grief as instead she buried herself in the here and now and focused on the task needing to be done. "Over there." She swallowed down a lump that had abruptly appeared in her throat. "It's where my mother is buried."

Nodding, they moved away with the body, leaving Inuyasha with the other slaves who were now looking to him for guidance and answers. And for his part, Inuyasha was doing an admirable job of not losing his temper, recognizing immediately what Kagome had seen…that not all the slaves had known about or been behind the fire, and were now just as at a loss as Kagome. But Inuyasha's eyes followed her as she stood up and moved away, listening with only half an ear to what various men and women were saying as instead he made sure Kagome was still on her feet and not requiring assistance.

They moved in a silent procession down the well worn trail towards the garden, and Kagome simply kept putting one foot in front of the other as she refused to contemplate just how much her life had changed in the last few hours. She'd known something like this was coming, of course; had suspected it the moment she'd heard talk of rebellion. Had probably known it even before all of that, deep down in her heart of hearts. But that didn't mean that suddenly being faced with such a reality was any easier.

She was now realizing that it had been one thing to say to Sango or Inuyasha that she accepted the inevitability of an attack, but it was quite another matter entirely to now face the fallout from such an attack. Her father was dead. She would never speak to him again. But mercifully that truth had yet to sink in, as though mentally she kept waiting for him to sit up and reassure her all was well.

It would undoubtedly be like when she'd lost her mother, with days melding together into one long, hazy memory, until finally she was forced to acknowledge the reality that Taro Higurashi was never coming back.

But that was the future. She refused to think about the future just yet, instead taking solace in the present. Finding comfort in not worrying about what would happen tomorrow. Instead, with every step she took time to evaluate her situation in the present moment. Right foot…her father was dead. Left foot…her home was destroyed. Right foot…she had nowhere to go. Left foot…she had no money. Right foot…there was no food. Left foot…but she was still alive.

And it was that last fact that kept her moving more than anything else. Ironically, it had been her father who'd always insisted that so long as you were alive you had options, and Kagome clung to that belief now as she resolved to survive the coming storm. Knowing that, quite frankly, as horrendous as the night had been, it was only the beginning. There would be many more hurdles to overcome before the end. But also knowing she now had two parents who'd died for her safety, and she had no intention of putting those sacrifices to waste.

"Here…" She said at last as they reached the white stone marker out in the garden, looking at the earth and trying to reconcile the reality that her father's body would lie beneath it again with that memory of him eating breakfast that very morning in the dining room. It was just…hard. Knowing he'd been alive, and now he wasn't. Her brain struggling to wrap itself around such a concept, a mortal mind grappling with such large concepts as eternal and forever.

Looking at the friends who were still holding her father's body aloft, Kagome again turned her eyes towards the ground. Clearly struggling with what to do or say. That fragile control she had over her emotions threatening to fracture. "We…you don't have to do anything right now…"

Miroku again was the one to reach out, putting a steadying hand on Kagome's shoulder. "I think it's best if we bury him now." He was too polite to say that it was because at any moment the slaves could suddenly remember how much they'd hated their former master, and might desecrate the body. But Kagome understood. Nodding her head as she went in search of shovels, once more in control.

Walking stiffly towards the barn, her breathing was labored, with lungs that were undoubtedly going to require a few weeks to recuperate and recover from all that exposure to smoke and carbon monoxide. Kagome had tunnel vision, only wanting to find shovels and return to the garden to bury her father before she lost what little strength she had left in her body. And because of her tunnel vision, she missed the approaching trio of men until they startled her as one of them spoke.

"So you survived after all," a man with a ruddy, reddish brown beard remarked. Sounding neither pleased or upset…just stating a fact.

Kagome immediately recognized him, along with his two companions, as three of the four men who'd surrounded her father back in the house. Swallowing, she did her best to keep her voice steady and not allow her legs to tremble as she pulled Inuyasha's jacket tighter around her body, taking comfort in his scent. "Yes. Please excuse me." She tried to walk by the three men, but they stopped her.

"Where are you going?" The same man asked again.

Refusing to look at them, for fear of losing her nerve, Kagome again tried to push by them with little success. "To get shovels." She turned in a different direction to walk around them. "Please let me pass."

For some reason her answer seemed to infuriate the man as he grabbed her arm. "My brother died in that fire, and it's because of you. If you hadn't distracted us, we would have been in and out and our job would have been done."

It was a ridiculous accusation to make, clearly given by a grieving man, but Kagome had her own grief to tend to, and wouldn't give him any leeway or sympathy. "That's absurd!" She used her temper as a shield, drawing strength and courage from her anger as she jerked her arm away from the man. Forgetting about how cold she was, or how afraid or exhausted. Imagining again her father's charred, burned body, and knowing he must have been in horrific pain right up to his very last breath. Remembering the bruises on his face, clearly having been beaten by these men before she'd come down the hall and stopped them. "You had no reason to be in there in the first place, and had you not sought to take my father's life, your brother would be alive now." Perhaps not the best thing to say, but Kagome wouldn't hold back now, not when they were clearly so determined to hate her and blame her for their own folly.

Of course such remarks only inflamed the anger she already saw in the man's eyes, and his posture stiffened, as did the posture of the two men with him. They advanced on her, but Kagome refused to yield, surprised by her own determination. Raising her chin defiantly, she braced herself for whatever might come next, only regretting not having a shovel yet in her hands to use for defense.

She wasn't sure how, but obviously these were the men who'd started the fire. And then these same men had gone into the house with the intention of incapacitating Taro Higurashi to the point where he couldn't escape, and would burn to death. But one of their own had died in the process, and now they were angry and sought to take it out on her. Well she wouldn't stand for it. No matter how much pity she felt for the lives they'd had to endure all these years, Kagome refused to yield one inch. "Your brother died because of your need for revenge. That has nothing to do with me."

"If you'd just stayed out of it-"

"And I'd no sooner have allowed my father to simply be murdered than you would have allowed your brother to die if you could have prevented it!" She snapped, not even allowing the man to finish. "My father is dead. I need shovels now so I can bury him. Be thankful you got what you wanted, and leave me in peace."

Everyone tense as they squared off, three men against one lone woman who seemed to be swallowed up by that massive red jacket she was wearing over her shoulders. And yet in that instant, the slaves seemed to wilt under her gaze, staring at this woman dressed in nothing but a nightgown and with nowhere to go and nothing left of her former life…who still dared to stand her ground rather than beg and plead for her life as they'd expected her to do. In all honesty, had she done that, they might have ripped her to pieces. But instead she'd held firm, and their anger deflated into nothing.

First one, and then the next, and the next stepped aside, and Kagome stepped past and into the barn without even looking at them. Moving into the barn and finding the shovels she needed before coming back out. Pausing as she allowed her eyes to look at each of the men in turn before finally sighing. "I'm sorry about your brother," she whispered, even as the bearded man's eyes went wide with surprise. But she was gone before he could say another word.

In her wake, someone stepped out of the shadows.

Inuyasha watched Kagome's retreating form before his eyes moved around to look at the three men before him. A snarl barely contained on his lips as he moved forward with clenched fists, violence clearly on his mind. "If I were you," he said very slowly, "I'd get the fuck off this estate before dawn. You've created a real mess for us all. And I don't think you'll find a lot of gratitude for it, either."

The men seemed to rediscover their voices as they snapped back in protest. "We only did what we had to, for our freedom!" One of them insisted. "This had to be done! You said so yourself."

"I said we needed to plan!"

"And that's all we'd ever do with you. Everyone was talking about what had to be done. But no one was doing a damn thing. We finally took action. It was the perfect moment."

"The perfect moment?" Inuyasha snarled again, and the other men visibly flinched backwards. "I didn't say to burn down the house with winter approaching, you fucking moron! There needed to be more of a plan than this. Now we have nothing! No house. No shelter. And all the food stored in the kitchen is gone. All thanks to you." Inuyasha's eyes were filled with a wrathful anger that clearly terrified the men, but he didn't care. They deserved to be afraid. "So as I said…get the fuck out of here before dawn, unless you want to join that brother of yours in the afterlife."

He turned to leave, but paused again and looked at them. "And if I so much as catch you looking at Kagome Higurashi again, you'll be dead. Do you understand me?" The men clearly saw something in the hanyou's eyes, because they all nodded before turning and fading into the darkness of the night.

Inuyasha sighed and looked back towards the mass of slaves huddled near the ruins of the mansion. All men and women who were without food, and the only shelter they had came in the form of the slave quarters. It was better than nothing, he supposed, but it wasn't ideal. Overall the situation was about as bad as it could be, with tension in the air and Inuyasha prepared for conflict at any moment.

No one had expected the fire. Many of the slaves had even tried to save the mansion, but they had been too late to keep it from spreading. But that didn't stop them from all asking the obvious question: now what?

Unfortunately, he didn't have any more answers than they did.

Inuyasha's eyes searched through the darkness, wishing he could see the one woman he was looking for. Knowing somewhere in that mess was Kagome, burying her father. Feeling all over again the sheer awe he'd felt when he'd come upon her, staring down the men who looked like they wanted to rip her limb from limb. He'd been prepared to jump in and protect her, but it hadn't proved necessary. Somehow, dressed in socks and a nightgown, she'd still managed to stare them down.

There was clearly more strength in her than he'd first realized. Which was a good thing, because unfortunately he had a feeling she was really going to need it if she was going to survive the coming days.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Author's Notes: **_For reasons unknown, this was a difficult chapter to write. Possibly because of all the distractions brought on by the holiday season, or the stress of preparing for my audition. I'd hoped to have it up before Christmas as a little present, but I guess we'll have to settle for one or two days late. Better late than never, right?_

_My audition went well. Now I get to wait and see if I impressed them enough to offer me a place. In the meantime, it's almost the New Year! I can hardly believe it._

_I hope everyone enjoys this chapter; it's another long one. And there's a lot of emotion involved. It's what I like to refer to as another bridge chapter; one where there isn't a lot of action to fall back on, but instead conversation and character development. Those can either go really well, or turn out horribly wrong. So they tend to take me a little longer to put together. I only hope it turned out all right. There's some Inuyasha/Kagome fluff for everyone, interspersed with some tension._

_So even though it's late, allow me to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, and hopefully I'll have one more chapter up before the New Year!_

* * *

Title: In Search of Eden

Author: dolphingirl0113

Chapter Eleven

Rating: M - Violence, Language, and Sexual Situations

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. And any similarities to other existing stories is entirely unintentional and coincidental. This story is based originally on an earlier work, titled 'Impossible Dreams', and that work, like this one, belongs to me. Please do not plagiarize.

* * *

When the sun rose the following morning, it illuminated a world filled with uncertainty for the slaves of the Shinto Estate. The heap of rubble and debris that had once been the great mansion had stopped smoking and smoldering sometime in the early hours of dawn, and now there was only silence. The ground was dusted with frost, crunching underfoot as people moved about performing various miscellaneous tasks, and a light fog hovered eerily somewhere between earth and sky, distorting the horizon and causing the world to shrink.

Seated on the fence surrounding the herb garden, Inuyasha watched the slaves moving about with narrowed eyes. He noted how all of them paused to stare – some with suspicion, some with wariness, and some with open curiosity – at the woman currently dozing on the ground before him, and it had him on edge.

Kagome lay curled up in a tiny little ball, draped in his red jacket, near the freshly turned earth covering her father's grave. Behind her on the ground was Sango, spooned against her back with arms around her friend protectively, the two women seeking warmth and safety from one another. Miroku sat beside them with his head bowed in meditation and prayer, and Kouga stood a few feet away, the three men clearly forming an odd but effective triangle of protection.

The cold in the air was thick and heavy, seeping into his bones, and Inuyasha had to forcibly resist the urge to shiver, wearing nothing but a long-sleeved shirt and his red pants. His eyes were again drawn down to Kagome's face, noting how it was hardly peaceful, and her sleep anything but restful, as she seemed to react to almost every noise around her. Any time someone walked by she jumped, and then Sango would momentarily tighten her hold, clearly in an attempt to reassure her.

Inuyasha's heart went out to the human girl. He knew how it felt to have a life turned entirely on its head, seemingly overnight, and could only imagine what Kagome was feeling. His own memories reared to life as he recalled the night Naraku had strolled into the castle and dropped the head of the mighty Inutaisho on the ground at the Queen's feet. With his child's mind Inuyasha had struggled to understand what he was seeing, trying to equate the memories of his father with that lifeless head on the stone floor. And even now he struggled to make sense of it all; to sort out the myriad of emotions he'd felt that day, and in all the days since.

"This is fucked up." Kouga broke the spell of the hanyou's memories as he approached and growled in irritation, looking around at all the various people peering in over the fence. "It's like she's some kind of animal in a pen for them to gawk at." The man's body was tense, his arms crossed over his muscular chest, and he looked as though he was ready to pummel someone at a moment's notice.

Inuyasha simply rolled his shoulders and stretched at first while saying nothing, the cold and inaction of the last few hours having turned his muscles stiff and painful. Every so often he'd flex his fingers to try and encourage circulation, and his feet were even worse. "Shit, it's cold!" He groaned, while with unreadable eyes he stared at the slaves, a hand draped over a bent knee as he settled back into place. "And will you calm down? It's not like masters haven't gawked at slaves in the same way," he said at last in a surprising show of wisdom. "They probably feel like they're entitled." It wasn't an excuse…but it was an attempt at a reason.

A reason the wolf prince apparently didn't care for, his blue eyes flaring with irritation in response. "The hell they are. Kagome never looked at them like this!"

This time Inuyasha looked directly at Kouga out of narrowed eyes, some piece of his veneer fracturing as he tried to read between the lines. "Why the hell do you care so much what they do or don't do in regards to her?" He'd noticed early on the way Kouga often looked at Kagome with affection and even a bit of lust, but had always assumed it was just the man's naturally flirtatious personality, chalking it up to him being a charmer like Miroku. But right now Inuyasha recognized a lot more than just general affection in Kouga's voice as he spoke. There was a protective quality to his tone, and Inuyasha didn't like it, although he was hard pressed to identify why it would bother him that someone cared about Kagome. It wasn't like _he_ wanted anything to do with her, after all. He'd promised to protect her, but that was the end of it. What she did with the rest of her life was her business.

So why was he glaring at Kouga now as though the wolf was one wrong answer away from getting a swift kick in the balls?

For his part, Kouga stared right back and refused to yield one inch, instead meeting the unspoken challenge head on; some silent threat passing between them that only they could really understand. It was something most people couldn't do when Inuyasha really got his glare going, and he supposed he had to respect the man for not being a coward…albeit begrudgingly so. "She has always been kind to me." Kouga's blue eyes softened as he spoke. "She's a good woman, who deserves a lot better in her life."

There it was…that softness again. And for a second time Inuyasha felt his temper flare in response. "So do a lot of people, cry me a fucking river," he stated harshly as he jumped down off the fence, swearing as his feet connected with the nearly frozen ground, the impact ricocheting through his stiff muscles in a painful series of vibrations. "I know a lot of people who have it a lot worse than she did; at least she had a warm, clean bed and food to eat every day."

Until now, he added silently to himself, keeping that concern private. Kagome was a woman who'd never had to face the elements like this before…would she be able to survive? It was something he'd been pondering all through the night while watching her trying to sleep.

Kouga shook his head, looking at Kagome's form on the ground with a protective posture; as though he'd single handedly shield her from all that sought to harm her. "There are a lot of things that make for a lonely, hard life that have nothing to do with regular baths or a warm bed. I've known her a lot longer than you have, mutt face. And believe me when I say she does not deserve this."

Rubbing his hands over his arms and seeing the fog from his breath on the air, Inuyasha growled and looked away, making it clear he did not appreciate the less-than-subtle barb about the fact that Kouga technically had known the woman longer than he had, and therefore might also know her _better_ than he did. He didn't want to see it; didn't want to see the familiarity or the genuine affection in Kouga's eyes as he looked at Kagome. It made the hanyou uncomfortable, though he was hard-pressed to say why.

Miroku shifted on the ground, now watching the two men, and Inuyasha could see the questions in his friend's eyes. Questions he didn't have answers to, and didn't feel like discussing, so he looked away.

These were all things that complicated his life in ways it didn't really need complicating. He wished he could just wipe it all away, and go back to the time before he'd ever met Kagome Higurashi or come to this place. He wanted to return to the days when he'd been plotting his revenge on Naraku without also having to suddenly worry about the wellbeing of over one hundred slaves. Return to the days before he was haunted by the lonely eyes of a girl who even now was curling further into his red jacket as she tried to block out the rest of the world and the horrible truths that waited for her when she opened her eyes. But more than anything else he wanted to go back to a time where he didn't know what it felt like to see that jacket on her body and respond by straightening his shoulders in satisfaction, or hear Kouga's affection for her and respond by wanting to hit something.

He didn't want to be so protective of her, because that implied he cared, and caring was not something Inuyasha did very well. The last time he'd cared about anyone, he'd had it all ripped way, and the experience had taught him well enough that to care was to know pain. It wasn't worth it.

"If you two are done arguing over your favorite bone," Miroku's sarcastic voice cut through the silence, "Perhaps we can start trying to formulate a plan."

"A plan for what?" Inuyasha wished desperately to be rid of the diamond shard around his neck, knowing if he were restored to his full strength he wouldn't be feeling the bite of the cold so bitterly. He shivered as he rubbed his hands over his arms, and only felt a little better when he noted Kouga was doing the same thing. Ironically enough it was Miroku who seemed to be tolerating the cold weather better than anyone else. "And can I just say it's fucking ridiculous that we're all out here when we could at least be inside one of the huts?"

Kagome stirred, sitting up with a slow precision that implied her body was as stiff as his, punctuated with a wince or two as she finally managed to get to her feet. She turned and regarded him steadily. "Then why don't you go get warm, Inuyasha? I didn't ask you to stay out here." She rubbed her eyes – blotchy and red – and swallowed. Her voice so hoarse it was barely audible.

Staring at her, Inuyasha felt the usual tension build in his body as their eyes met. Noting that even pale, exhausted, and shell-shocked with grief, Kagome Higurashi's gaze could pack one hell of a punch. Everything else about her might be swollen, bruised, blotchy, and red, but her irises were still the same unmistakable cobalt blue, and Inuyasha found he actually had to look away before she did. "You've got my coat, you idiot. I didn't want you getting a hair brained idea like running off and leaving me without it."

"Take it back then, if you're so worried." She tried to take it off and give it to him, her slender frame shivering, but Inuyasha was there before she could fully slip it off her shoulders. She looked at him, and he looked at her.

In the end he resettled it on her body and looked away. "Keep it."

Narrowing her eyes, Kagome looked as though she might say something, but in the end apparently thought better of it as she simply turned away. Sango rose beside her, the warrior woman giving Inuyasha a glare of warning with a very clear message: play nice.

Inuyasha just rolled his eyes while secretly watching as Kagome moved to the edge of the garden and leaned against the fence. He noted how she watched the slaves as they passed by, and also noticed how the slaves were watching her. It was a strange dance, reminiscent of predators circling a wounded animal; and there was no question in this instance who the prey was. The only unknown that remained now was how hungry were the predators?

That protective instinct swelled up again as a few of the slaves actually dared to approach, and Inuyasha crossed the distance within seconds to stand behind Kagome. Kouga was only a few seconds slower in his response, and the two men flanked Kagome on either side in an impressive display of solidarity. Sango stood just behind with wary eyes, and Miroku, while seeming disinterested from his place on the ground, was undoubtedly on alert too. The mere fact that he'd gone completely still spoke volumes, and Inuyasha knew full well that man packed a punch when necessary.

It was an unspoken standoff as everyone stared at one another.

"Is she to stay with us?" One woman asked at last, eyeing Kagome with an unreadable expression on her face. She wasn't necessarily hostile…but her look was far from welcoming either.

For her part, Kagome didn't even flinch, although honestly Inuyasha wasn't sure if this was because she was that strong, or if she was simply too exhausted and ill from her ordeal the night before to give much of a reaction to anything going on around her. She simply stood with her arms folded and her hands tucked into the sleeves of Inuyasha's jacket, expressionless and seemingly indifferent. Or numb. Or perhaps even a little bit of both. It was almost as though the life had been sucked right out of her, and on some level Inuyasha felt his heart break.

Kouga was the first to speak, fists clenched as he leaned forward in a physical display of aggression. He could give even Inuyasha a run for his money as a hothead with a temper. "Of course she is. Do you have a problem with that?" There was a clear threat implied with his question, and everyone shifted nervously as the tension grew thick.

The woman who'd spoken looked again at Kagome, clearly searching for something, though what exactly that was remained anyone's guess. "How do you know we can trust her?" She finally asked.

"What exactly is she going to do?" This time Inuyasha spoke. It was irritating that people seemed inclined to speak about Kagome as though she wasn't standing right in front of them, and his temper was really on edge. "She has no more power or influence than we do. She is no risk to you now."

No, quite frankly the greatest risk to all of them at the moment was frostbite and hunger. But he kept those thoughts to himself, not wanting to really cause a panic. Everyone seemed to be hanging onto self-control by a thread, and frankly Inuyasha wasn't in the mood to find out what happened when that last thread snapped. In all honesty, he had a feeling they were purposefully trying to channel their anger and fear towards Kagome in an attempt to avoid dealing with the actual dangers of their present situation…but he hoped he was wrong.

Another slave spoke up, a young man with eyes that were more accusatory and a little less forgiving. "Say we are captured…she could tell them everything. She'd probably tell them to save herself. We would be killed for sure!" He looked around him for supporters. "I say she has to leave. At least if she's gone she's no risk to us."

Inuyasha growled. "You fucking idiot…"

"We're probably dead anyway, regardless of what Lady Kagome might say," Miroku observed from the ground, interrupting Inuyasha before he could say something really inflammatory. The former monk's hands were folded in his lap and his eyes were closed in his favorite meditative pose. It's how he always looked when deep in thought. But there was a bite to his voice Inuyasha knew well; a bite that meant the man was seriously unhappy with the tone of the conversation. "So casting her off isn't the answer." He looked at the man sideways, his violet eyes slashing through the space between them in reprimand.

The man who'd spoken shook his head in denial, even as he struggled to meet Miroku's gaze. "We have more of a chance if she's not with us. She's obviously a master's daughter; she's too polished to be anything else. Just look at her hands…not a single callous." The tone of his voice suggested this was disgusting. "They'd know her immediately for what she is, and ask her what happened. If she told them the truth, they'd give her shelter and we would be punished." To Inuyasha's dismay, several others were nodding their heads in agreement.

The predators were circling now, aggression feeding on aggression as the crowd around them grew. And the whole time Kagome still said nothing, simply watching and waiting. Inuyasha was torn between admiration for the calm she was showing, and irritation that she wasn't saying a single word in defense of herself or her right to live and be left alone. What had happened to the woman who'd so fiercely stared down those three angry men the night before?

Then again, what could she possibly say to an irrational, hungry, terrified mob? Maybe she was the smarter one by saying nothing. Perhaps she hoped that so long as she didn't pour fuel on an already raging fire, it would simmer down before things escalated to violence. Damn…he wished he could get a glimpse into her mind. For reasons unknown, Inuyasha found he needed her support in this. He needed to know what she was thinking. He needed to feel…connected. And right now he felt about as disconnected as a man could feel; she might as well have been standing six miles away, rather than a mere six inches to his left.

"Kagome wouldn't do that." This time it was Sango voicing a protest.

"She's your friend, of course you'd say that." As always, when in a crowd everyone felt safer and freer speaking their minds. Inuyasha had a feeling if they'd been speaking with these people one on one, they wouldn't have dared be so bold.

Miroku finally stood up. "Are you calling her a liar?"

Inuyasha felt an eyebrow disappear behind his bangs in surprise. He'd never heard his friend actually try and defend a woman. Hell, generally speaking Miroku didn't stick his neck out for anyone unless it was to his own benefit. But for Sango…

"Stop it, all of you!" Finally Kagome's voice crackled and strained to be heard, and everyone stopped speaking to look at her. Clutching Inuyasha's jacket closer to her body, she swallowed and tried again. "I have no intention of making your lives worse than they already are. If you want me gone, then fine…I'll leave." Her eyes drifted towards the fresh earth of her father's grave. "I have no reason to stay here." Again her gaze snapped around to look at the slaves. "But I won't just stand around waiting for anyone to murder me in my sleep. My father is dead; if you crave more vengeance than that, you won't get it."

"Kagome…" Sango stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to go anywhere. You'll stay with us." The former demon exterminator's eyes seemed to look at each slave individually. "And you will be welcome. We are your friends." The message was clear: she was firmly with Kagome, and anyone who sought to harm her friend would also face Sango herself.

Kouga nodded his head and stepped up as well. "Yes, we are your friends. You aren't going anywhere. It's dangerous out there."

With a shake of her head, Kagome looked at them before looking away. "None of us can stay here; surely you all know that." Her eyes roamed over the crowd of people, and then came to rest on Inuyasha's face. "Even if you can keep warm in the huts, there isn't any food." It was the first time anyone had dared to so openly and blatantly state the obvious, and Inuyasha found himself tensing in response. Not sure how the slaves would react to such a blunt assessment of their current set of circumstances.

And it didn't take long to find out, either. "Without you around, there'd at least be one less mouth to feed."

It was unclear who'd said it, but it was enough to set off Inuyasha's temper. "I've had it! Kagome belongs here. We're not sending her away, and that's final. She won't cause you any harm."

"You don't get to have an opinion, demon," one woman said, her fists clenched as she actually had the gumption to step away from the crowd and identify herself. She said the word 'demon' like she thought it was disgusting in some way (many humans felt that way about demons, afraid of what they didn't understand), and Inuyasha could only imagine what she would have said if she'd known the truth: that he was a half-breed. It was well known that the more prejudiced people saw half-breeds as a representation of a forbidden, disgusting union. And clearly this woman was one of them; she believed she'd seen a demon and a human together, and was disgusted by what she'd seen.

She persisted, boldly meeting his gaze with an accusing finger. "I saw you with her, many times. Your judgment is impaired. I don't care if it's because you're in love with her or if you just want her body…but obviously you fell for her tricks, and I don't trust a word you say any more."

Oddly enough, it was that particular accusation, and not any of the others that had come before, that drew the most visceral response out of Kagome. She paled and recoiled as if she'd been slapped, her knees wobbly as she leaned against Sango for support. And that sight, along with what the woman had said and the implications behind it, finally caused something to snap inside. Inuyasha no longer thought about what he was saying, or how it might come across; he just knew he was pissed off. "You don't know the first thing about what you're talking about. No one seduces me. No one puts me under any kind of spell." He thought of all the daughters who'd tried on various estates, and how all of them had failed, even though he'd been forced to do many things that left him disgusted. "You know _nothing_. Did it ever occur to you that there were other reasons I was with her? Of course not. You're all so fucking quick to make your judgments like a group of idiots you can't take the time to see if there are other answers. Well let me tell you something…I was with her because I think she can purify diamond shards. Now _you_ tell _me_ how useless you think she is, if that's true. Tell me if you still want to run her out of town, when in fact she could potentially free every demon here, and give us more of a weapon against Naraku."

It was obvious by the silence that followed that no one had expected that kind of bombshell to be dropped. All the slaves were now staring at Kagome in a different way, some in curiosity, some in disbelief, and some with an unmistakable amount of intrigue. Even Kouga was looking at Kagome in a whole new light, obviously trying to decide for himself if such a thing were possible.

Only one person was looking at Inuyasha, and by the look in Kagome's eyes, Inuyasha realized immediately he'd hurt her deeply with his words. In his attempt to protect her, and out of anger, he'd minimized any emotional or personal connection between them (not that he'd acknowledge any such connection out loud himself), and undoubtedly now all she was seeing him as was a man using her for his own needs. She probably even thought that his vow to protect her was more to protect the woman who could purify his diamond shard, and not some noble gesture made by a heroic man.

It shouldn't have bothered him. He should have been relieved to burst her bubble. And yet that look she was giving him pierced straight through to his heart, leaving Inuyasha feeling empty and hollow on the inside. All he could think about was how used he'd felt by so many women on all the estates where he'd lived over the years, and hated seeing that feeling reflected on her face.

"How do we know if she can purify the shards?" A man asked.

"She'll have to prove it, obviously!" Another voice answered.

"Make her prove it!" The crowd took up the chant in a series of echoing demands, and now Inuyasha felt somewhat cornered. He'd not meant to reveal any of this in such a way. Frankly, he'd planned on telling Kagome when he had her somewhere private and could try and explain what it all meant. He'd even hoped to perhaps have her test his theory without anyone knowing or watching. But all his best-laid plans had gone straight to hell when he'd lost his temper, and now here they were with only one way out.

Sango's gaze had swung around to rest on Inuyasha, and judging by her glare, it was obvious she was angry with him. Seeing him as nothing more than a sorry bastard using her friend for his own benefit. "She doesn't have to prove anything!" She snapped at the crowd, clearly ready to go toe to toe with all of them – on her own – if she had to. Inuyasha had to admire the feisty brunette for her loyalty. "She has a right to live, and do what she wants, the same as all of you. You're all a bunch of hypocrites, to have wanted freedom for so long, and now wish to strip it away from someone else!"

"It's alright, Sango." Kagome was still staring straight at Inuyasha, and he was still feeling unbelievably uncomfortable as a result. "If that's what Inuyasha needs me to do, then I will. I don't know what this power is he thinks I have, but if I have it, and can help, then I will of course do it." But her voice was cold and flat, and her eyes had shuttered closed on her emotions, effectively shutting him out.

That hurt.

That really, really hurt.

For her part, Kagome felt like her heart had been shattered into a million tiny, jagged pieces. She now realized she'd been a fool before, to so blindly trust Inuyasha (or anyone, for that matter), when in truth all he'd been doing was using her. Sango had been right all along, insisting he was no good. But she'd fallen for his emotional eyes and the hard life he'd been forced to live, forgetting about all the hatred he'd felt for her when he'd first arrived. Clearly that hatred had never really gone away after all. She was just a tool to him…a means to an end.

She didn't fully understand what he meant about purifying his diamond shard, but at this point Kagome was determined to do it, if that's what he wanted her to do, and then get as far away from him as she possibly could. Maybe if she freed him of the diamond shard – if such a thing were even possible – then he'd go on his way, and she'd never have to see him again. Then at least she wouldn't have to see him every day as a reminder of how embarrassed she was over acting the part of a fool in this whole charade. If ever there was a moment where she wished she could take back her kiss, this was that moment.

Walking forward, she came to a stop only a few inches away from him with her hands on her hips. "What am I supposed to do?"

Inuyasha looked uncomfortable. "Kagome…"

"This is what you want, isn't it? So what am I supposed to do?"

Damn her! Damn her to hell and back! Inuyasha didn't want it to be like this, and she was making it hard on him! He'd never really cared who he hurt or offended before, but Kagome was different. She'd been different almost from the first moment he'd met her, and had stared at him so defiantly when he'd mocked her and called her 'mistress'.

In the end, however, she left him no choice. Everyone was staring at them, and Inuyasha knew prolonging things would only make it worse. Any hope of breaking the news to her gently and having a test run before doing anything in front of a public audience was ruined at this point; and he blamed himself for that. He should have been honest with her from the first moment a suspicion had taken root in his mind.

Why hadn't he told her?

Honestly, he had no good answer for that one. It was probably some instinct he didn't even realize he had any more, an automatic response, particularly when around masters or their families; a primitive instinct driving him to keep all pertinent information to himself, in case it could be used against him later. But seeing the look in her eyes – like he'd somehow betrayed her – had Inuyasha regretting that decision. "Just take the shard in your hand. I think that's all you have to do." Everyone was watching him, and it was making him nervous. "That's how you did it before; you just touched it."

Kagome blinked in surprise, momentarily forgetting to be angry. "When did I do this before?"

"It doesn't matter!" He snapped in a fit of temper, already on edge. He could feel all those eyes boring into him, and wanted to tell them all to go fuck themselves and leave him the hell alone. "Just grab hold of it, and we'll go from there. I don't know exactly how it works either, but we'll figure it out."

For one brief instant she looked at him steadily without moving, and Inuyasha knew she recognized that she held all the cards in this situation. All the power was in her hands, while he had none. She could choose to take that power and walk away from him. Or she could choose to use what he wanted as a bargaining chip to manipulate things the way _she_ wanted them to be. Any other mistress would have done it without a second thought. Inuyasha couldn't help but think of all the cold, selfish women who'd forced him to do their bidding in the past several years; relishing in the power they had over such a handsome, proud man. He could feel their hands on his body, and hear the tone of their voices as they reminded him they could make his life (and the lives of anyone he cared about) miserable if he made an issue out of it or tried to refuse. It had all been about power, and using that power to get what they wanted.

Now, again, his life was in the hands of someone else. A cold shiver of fear ran down his spine, and he realized abruptly _this_ was why he'd not told her about his suspicions. He'd wanted to avoid this exact feeling; it brought back too many awful memories.

Kagome was no fool; she could see that he was troubled, and had a fairly good idea of why. Again she recalled all the half-stories he'd told her, and all the implications he'd made about what he'd suffered over the years, and could only imagine how much he must be hating her position at the moment. She could see the mistrust in his eyes, along with the underlying pain and hurt, and felt her own heart soften all over again. For her, there was no question of what she would do, and after only showing the briefest of hesitations she reached out with her hand and gripped the black shard around his neck.

His face contorted with surprise, but Kagome ignored it. She felt a strange zing run up her arm and wanted to recoil from it, the sensation painful, but as she looked up again and tumbled into that emotional sea of amber, she managed to stand firm mostly out of sheer stubbornness. This man brought out so many emotions in her that she couldn't even keep track; some good, some bad. But at least it was all enough to carry her through the pain in her arm. The only indication that she was experiencing discomfort was the way she winced and paled…but she didn't make a sound.

No one spoke. No one dared to even breathe.

At last Kagome felt the pain slowly start to recede, and in the end there was nothing but vague warmth radiating from her palm. Daring to let go, she peeked at the shard…and everyone around her echoed her gasp as she realized the shard that had once been black was now a stunning shade of pink against her skin.

For his part Inuyasha was stunned, on more levels than he could really count. It was one thing to have suspicions, and another entirely to learn his suspicions were actually correct. Sensations were flooding back into his system he'd not felt in years; his sense of smell heightened, his ears tuned in to the smallest sounds, and suddenly he felt the effects of the cold weather receding too. His muscles loosened, and when he stretched he no longer felt the stiffness he'd felt before. It was an almost instantaneous difference, and he felt free, wanting to turn and run as fast as he could through the fields behind him so as to remember how it had all once been. In that one moment, he felt hope; true hope. It was the first time he'd felt like he had a small semblance of victory, since that day when he and his family had been enslaved. And if he could have this one small thing, what else could he do?

Glancing at Kagome, he knew it was all because of her, and for one instant there was nothing but gratitude shining in his eyes. No hatred or mistrust. No anger or irritation. In that one instant, he stood in awe at her show of courage – taking a risk knowing, if she purified the shard, he could have snapped her neck in two the very moment he had his full strength back – and gratified to realize, yet again, that she could in fact be trusted. Kagome was different from anyone he'd ever known before. She'd had all the power in the world at her disposal; she could have held her abilities hostage until all around her swore she would be safe and protected. But instead she'd handed that power over without a second thought.

Their eyes locked, and Kagome's eyes visibly softened, clearly seeing something in his own expression that enabled her to forgive – somewhat – the confusion and hurt of a few moments ago. Inuyasha felt his heart lurch in his chest in response. "Kagome-"

"Look!" His wonder was short lived, unfortunately, as a woman pointing at the shard interrupted him, and as Inuyasha looked down he realized to his horror it was already starting to once again fade to black. Without Kagome's touch, the dark magic that controlled it was taking over, and Inuyasha could feel his senses growing dull.

Panicking, refusing to return to the muted existence he'd been forced to endure for so long, he looked again at Kagome. "Take it off. Hurry! Take it off of me!" He was back to being impatient and harsh, but the panic he felt was real, and he didn't have time to couch his words in a polite way.

Kagome seemed to obey out of sheer surprise at the urgency in his voice, reaching up and slipping the diamond shard off his neck, the black once again turning pink as she held it in her hand. All around her the slaves exhaled on long, low sounds of awe and surprise as they again saw the 'miracle'. But for her part, she was unsure of what she should do with the shard, and in the end she wrapped the chord and the shard around her wrist for the time being. Still in shock over what she'd managed to do, and clearly the feeling was mutual, since all eyes were now on her in varying degrees of surprise, awe, and intrigue. It left her feeling like a bug in a jar, trapped and about to be poked, prodded, and dissected for the greater good of science. Kagome didn't particularly care for that feeling, and almost immediately forgot about her surprise as instead she returned to feeling the resentment from before; looking at Inuyasha, and trying to ignore the stab of pain that once again pierced straight through her heart.

She was happy she could do such a thing for him…truly she was. The joy she'd seen on his face when the shard first turned pink had been a wondrous thing. But why couldn't he have spoken to her about all of it first in private? Why couldn't he have talked to her about his suspicions, and given her a chance to help him without all the secrets? Without leaving her so utterly blindsided? Why did he have to instead make her feel so…used?

"You have what you want," she whispered. "And I'm glad." But her body language suggested she wasn't entirely honest. Slipping out of his jacket she shoved it at him, and this time didn't give him a chance to put it back on her shoulders; instead turning and walking quickly away, the crowds around her parting without much protest. She knew, of course, it was just another calm before another storm, but she accepted it and took solace in the momentary lull. Ignoring the looks she was receiving; simply needing to get away from it all. Except as she found herself halfway into the fields that might never again fill up with crops, Kagome was forced to acknowledge she had nowhere to go. That thought, more than anything else, was utterly devastating. She didn't want to be reliant or dependent upon anyone; she wanted to be strong enough to make her own way in this new world. But how could she do that when she didn't have a place to start?

The slaves made her nervous, even though she wished it weren't true. Her father's grave was too fresh, and the hatred and mistrust in their eyes too raw. And this revelation Inuyasha had forced her to demonstrate would only keep them at bay for so long before they would undoubtedly start trying to figure out how they could _use_ her for their own benefit.

All that having been said, it would be better for all if she just left…but where? Where could she go?

Again she thought of her grandfather, but had to acknowledge she didn't even known if he was still alive, let alone how to find her way to his home if he was. She had no horses. No means of transportation. No real sense of direction, since she'd hardly left the estate more than a dozen times in her entire life. And while she was willing to be brave and force her way through some tough situations, at the end of the day even she couldn't deny it was a suicide mission to simply set out into the world without food, water, or shelter and _hope_ she ended up in the right place.

Shaking her head, she brought her hands up and rubbed vigorously at her face in an attempt to clear her thoughts; barely able to feel her own fingers on her cheeks, her skin was so numb. She'd never missed her fireplace more, and was already regretting her emotionally driven decision to remove Inuyasha's jacket…not that she'd be asking for it back any time soon. She was far too stubborn for that.

"Kagome!" The voice belonged to Sango, and as Kagome turned she spotted both her friend and Miroku coming towards her.

Walking forward, she met them halfway. "Did you know about this?" She asked almost immediately, the question which had been resting at the forefront of her mind from the first moment Inuyasha had revealed his suspicions, and was relieved when Sango shook her head. It was small, but Kagome was gratified to know at least one person wasn't keeping secrets. Miroku, however, had a look in his eyes that gave him away, and Kagome sighed. "You did though, didn't you?" It shouldn't be surprising; he was Inuyasha's friend.

With a shrug of his shoulders, Miroku nodded his head in acknowledgement of the gentle accusation, and Kagome had to appreciate the fact that he at least didn't try and deny it. "Inuyasha told me about his suspicions just before the fire. He was worried about telling others, because he didn't want them to use you." Violet eyes darted over to look at Sango, searching for something on her face, as he spoke. "He was worried they'd take you as a captive and use you as a tool for their own needs."

It didn't explain why he'd not said a word to _her_, but Kagome could perhaps understand a little of his rationale. Biting her lip, she looked at the ground as she hugged herself in an attempt to stay warm. "And why isn't he the one here telling me this, if it's true?" Miroku just gave her a steady look, and she laughed, the sound harsh due to her hoarse, worn vocal chords. "Right…he doesn't talk about his feelings much. I've figured that one out. And he doesn't trust women." She shook her head. "I just…I don't like feeling used. I would have helped him, if he'd told me. Now I feel like the only reason he wanted to save me was so I could purify his shard."

"And so what if it was?" Sango's voice was confident and brokered no argument, her expression harshly determined. "I don't care what his motivations were for saving you, Kagome; he did. And if purifying his shard is the only thing you had to do in exchange, then be grateful." Tears welled up in her eyes. "I couldn't stand to lose you."

Kagome felt her own eyes grow damp as she moved towards her friend, the pair embracing for a moment in silent apology for all their arguments and misunderstandings of the past few weeks. Finally pulling back with a sniffle, Kagome blushed. "I'm just being silly."

Miroku regarded her as though trying to decide how much to say, before finally taking the plunge. "You have to understand, Kagome…Inuyasha has no reason to trust anyone. It's not just about you. He's been betrayed and used, and while it's not my place to tell his secrets, suffice it to say it's a miracle he even still talks to _me_, let alone anyone else." The man shrugged. "And he doesn't even talk to me that much. He's private, in the worst way possible."

For some reason, the way Miroku phrased it brought a smile to Kagome's face…albeit a reluctant one. She could maybe see why Sango was attracted to this man. His eyes were kind, and he seemed willing to accept the world around him as it was and survive. Wisdom. She saw plenty of wisdom too, and beneath all of that she recognized in him a survivor's spirit. Undoubtedly Miroku had his own stories to tell, and it hadn't escaped Kagome's notice that he was very quick to speak about others, but very slow to reveal much about himself.

"What do you think I should do?" She asked at last, and was surprised to realize she was looking right at Miroku. Clearly wanting his opinion. "I don't think I can stay here…"

"You're not thinking of leaving, Kagome," Sango interrupted, with a clear reprimand in her voice. She moved closer as though worried at that very moment Kagome might make a break for the trees.

With exhausted eyes Kagome looked at her friend. "I don't know what else to do, Sango. The slaves don't accept me. They might not ever accept me. And you can't spend all your time hovering to make sure no one tries to slit my throat while I sleep." She meant it mostly as a joke, but even so Kagome felt nausea roll over in her stomach at the thought. One never knew what people were capable of, when angry or afraid. She'd not thought it possible someone could leave a man to burn alive either…but now her father was dead. Everything had changed, and she was rapidly trying to change and evolve too.

"Leaving would be dangerous," Miroku finally replied. His tone gentle but firm, brokering no argument. "You've not been out in that world alone, Kagome. You don't know what you might find. And where would you go?"

"I'd try and find my grandfather."

"But do you know where he lives?" That was the crux of the matter, and Kagome had no response, so she silently shook her head. Miroku continued. "Then I suggest you stay with us. You have a better chance of surviving. No one will harm you; we'll make sure of that."

With a huff Kagome put her hands on her hips. "But I don't want all of you having to 'make sure of that'. Don't you understand how frustrating it is to feel so helpless? To be so dependent on everyone else?"

Sango put a steadying hand on her shoulder. "You came and rescued me once. Or have you forgotten?" Their eyes locked, and both remembered that day. Sango had believed her life was over; she was being sold to Bankotsu, a notoriously cruel man even before the Great Revolution. It was clearly a punishment for her family's defiance, and she'd assumed her death would be inevitable and painful. But then Kagome had come running up the road, waving money in her hand and pleading for her friend's life…and somehow, in the end, she'd managed to save her. Now, Sango's voice was gentle. "I'll help you, like you once helped me. I'll help you learn how to defend yourself. But first we have to come up with a plan, and whatever the plan might be, it does not involve you leaving. Promise me you won't leave, Kagome…right now."

Looking at her friend, in the end Kagome knew she was the loser in this particular argument. "I promise, Sango."

"Good."

Miroku put an arm around Kagome's shoulders, sandwiching her between the two of them, and his eyes were completely serious…but kind. "Come on, then…let's try and find something to eat and-"

"What the hell is going on out here?" The warm bubble that had slowly been building around her burst as Kagome spotted Inuyasha marching towards them, and her eyes hardened as she grit her teeth and refused to speak one word. He seemed to notice, and only got more agitated. "Are you done throwing tantrums, woman? We've started a fire, and you need to get warm."

It was a double-edged sword, really; on the one hand he insulted her, but on the other he showed genuine concern for her wellbeing. All over again Kagome was reminded of why her feelings around this man were so damn complicated. He wasn't consistent or easy to understand, and in the moment she was so exhausted she wasn't sure she had the patience for bipolar behavior. "I wasn't throwing a tantrum," she ground out at last, her pride demanding she defend herself.

Inuyasha snorted. "Seemed pretty dumb to me; taking off my jacket and heading off to who knows where in the dead of winter. You're obviously freezing! You're not accustomed to living like this, you've been pampered your whole life. And this is no time to be stupid."

He was lecturing her like she was a child, and in the end Kagome snapped and broke away from her companions to march forward and jab him in the chest with her finger in accusation. "I am not stupid! I'm sad…scared...lonely…terrified…uncertain…but I. Am. Not. Stupid! And I'm willing to learn whatever I don't know! So stop saying those things, you jerk!"

She continued to poke him until he finally snapped and growled at her, fingers snaring her wrist. "Stop _doing_ that."

"No!" Now she started to swat at him in earnest, and abruptly Inuyasha stopped arguing as instead his arms came around her, holding her close even as the woman continued to pummel his chest with her fists. He knew this was about a lot more than simply him calling her stupid or hurting her feelings; he'd said far worse to Kagome Higurashi in the months since he'd first met her than he'd said just now. This ran deeper. Her emotions were visceral, and he could tell she was in pain. It seemed that finally the shock was wearing off; the unbelievably perfect, ordered control she'd seemed to have up until now fraying at the edges.

Without the diamond shard restricting his demon half, Inuyasha barely felt the punches in a physical sense. But emotionally he felt every single one stab him straight through the heart, particularly when he looked down and saw the anger and grief in her eyes. It was really a no-win situation for Kagome at this point; her father had, in essence, been murdered, and while the actual murderers were gone she was now being asked to coexist with people who were happy to see him dead. She wasn't being permitted the normal, natural grief process. There was little to no understanding from any of the slaves, and while Inuyasha could see things from their perspective quite clearly, he also could see what a tough corner Kagome was being wedged into. She was kind, but she was also passionate; her temper was evidence of that. And to be asked now to restrain her emotions and 'play nice'…well…it wouldn't work forever. It already wasn't working to a certain extent.

Helplessly he looked to Miroku for advice, and was frustrated when the former monk simply shrugged his shoulders in response. This wasn't exactly a situation anyone had much experience with.

"Kagome…" Her body had stilled in his arms, and now she was weeping softly against his chest. It left him uncomfortable and unsure of what to do, but he knew he couldn't push her away. So instead he continued to hold her close, even swaying slightly back and forth in an effort to comfort the grieving woman as he recalled it was something his mother had done for him as a child.

They remained that way for a time, with Miroku and Sango watching and trying to help any way they could. Finally her tears seemed to slow, and she grew quiet in his arms. "Do you know what you have to do now?" He was staring straight ahead as he asked the question, his chin resting atop her head. From that angle thanks to his enhanced senses he could really smell the sweet scent of her hair, buried beneath the overwhelming smell of smoke and fire, and thrilled again over the reminder that the diamond shard was now gone.

So many little things he'd forgotten about…things he'd once been able to do…

Pulling back, Kagome looked at him with her hands on his chest. Absently he noted that the fingers of both his hands could touch where they rested on her back; a reminder of just how small she was. He imagined he could just about wrap his hands entirely around her waist. So small, and so fragile too. She could break in an instant…and yet she hadn't. He had to admire that about her.

Kagome heard his question, and knew the answer almost immediately. She drew strength from the way he was looking at her; knowing this was a man who would find a way to succeed, no matter what. And despite how hurt she'd felt knowing he was keeping secrets, there was still something about this man that inspired her. Something about him that had inspired her from the first moment she'd looked into his eyes.

Lifting her chin, she nodded her head once. "Yes. I know what I have to do." It was a simple answer, but he could tell by the determination in her eyes that she knew exactly what it meant. Stepping out of his arms, she wiped at her cheeks before turning to walk back towards the other slaves, straightening her shoulders as she walked.

Kagome knew exactly what she had to do; she had to survive. Otherwise her father's death…even the death of her mother…would be in vain. Everything would be for nothing if she gave up now. So instead she'd have to find a way to get along, and appease anyone who might hate her or her family name enough to try and harm her. She had to swallow her pride and accept Sango's help and let the others protect her for the time being. And in the meantime, she'd learn how to defend herself so that slowly but surely she could regain her own independence. Because Inuyasha was right about one thing: she didn't know how to live on her own in this strange new world she found herself in. And trying to deny it wouldn't do her any favors in the long run.

Something heavy dropped onto her shoulders, and abruptly Kagome looked over to see Inuyasha walking beside her, his coat heavy and warm from the heat of his body as she slipped her arms into the sleeves. His scent was fast becoming familiar and comforting, and in the end she couldn't seem to repress the slight smile on her face as she looked at him and then looked away again.

He'd not exactly apologized for what he'd done…but Kagome was coming to understand that Inuyasha wasn't a man who apologized anyway. Not in an easy, obvious way. She'd have to learn to read between the lines with him. And yet the fact that he was here now gave her hope. He was such a strong presence; so confident and sure of himself. He'd been that way even before she'd purified the diamond shard, but now he seemed to carry himself with an extra swagger. And he didn't hate her, as she'd feared. That much was clear now; she could see it in his eyes. If he hated her, he wouldn't have come after her. But he had. He'd come to find her, and then held her, and when she'd cried all her tears had gently but firmly shook her back to reality. Even the way he continued to hover now left her feeling warm inside; she could feel his eyes on her almost everywhere she went, even if he said very little. And his jacket felt like a shield to keep out the dangers of the rest of the world. It had carried her through fire. Now it would carry her through the next obstacle.

God only knew what reason he was choosing to side with her and protect her. It still left her feeling confused, and a tendril of ice formed in her belly as she realized it could all still simply be about her ability to purify the diamond shards. But just as quickly the ice melted and reason took over again. He wouldn't have to offer her his jacket, or protect her from the other slaves, if that's all he wanted. And anyway, if all he was after were her abilities, he would have forcefully shoved her towards every demon in the group and had her purify every shard the moment he confirmed his suspicions about what she could do. Instead he seemed to be shielding her from them, so she could retain some sense of control. Moreover, Miroku had insisted part of the reason Inuyasha hadn't said a word was because he'd not wanted others to take advantage of her.

In the end, Kagome chose to believe in the good things she saw. Chose to latch onto the hope he offered. She chose to see the best in this man, because what other choice did she have? At the moment, he was her only hope…and likewise, it was becoming clear that she was his.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Author's Notes: **Hello, everyone! Here's the long-awaited Chapter Twelve. Things are now officially starting to move forward. There's a plan in the works for our little band, and I'm going to have a lot of fun writing it.

I'll keep the personal notes short this time around so everyone can get to reading. But suffice it to say, there are some exciting things on the horizon for me. I've been invited for a live audition in London at the end of April/beginning of May. This is a great opportunity! Plus I have a competition I'm preparing for in Seattle, and a few other auditions to boot. Overall things are moving in the proper direction musically, but it's meant I've been up to my eyeballs in work both with that and with the office I'm managing.

Hopefully things are now starting to slow down so I can get back to posting more regularly for all of you.

Thank you so much for all the reviews and messages, it's very much appreciated. Enjoy!

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Title: In Search of Eden

Author: dolphingirl0113

Chapter Twelve

Rating: M - Violence, Language, and Sexual Situations

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. And any similarities to other existing stories is entirely unintentional and coincidental. This story is based originally on an earlier work, titled 'Impossible Dreams', and that work, like this one, belongs to me. Please do not plagiarize.

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What little camaraderie Kagome might have felt with Inuyasha after that day in the field was eroded by reality fairly rapidly. And any attempts she might have made to reconcile with the former slaves also were inevitably shoved aside as everyone instead simply banded together to survive.

It took a mere three days to run out of what little food had been recovered from the storehouses and the ruins of the mansion. On the fourth day, Inuyasha and the other demons (whose diamond shards had all been removed by Kagome) went on their first daylong expedition to find food. On the morning of the ninth day they went out again. And on the evening of the fifteenth they returned with very little, barely enough to last another week. The acreage of the Shinto Estate was vast, but it didn't have limitless supplies of game for hunting, and Taro Higurashi had not produced livestock…he'd been a producer of wheat, corn, and other produce. Much of that produce had already been sold for profit, and what few animals he'd possessed had long since been killed and used for food.

What was worse, their news of the outside world so far was grim: there were no wild, untamed places any more, at least not nearby; everything was fenced and gated and 'owned' by various masters, and venturing onto said properties risked discovery. Inuyasha and the others had confirmed this with Kagome, who admitted that on the few trips she'd made to the outside, there had been fences everywhere. Trying to venture onto any of these other lands to get more food put them at risk of discovery, and that was the one thing everyone agreed would be a bad thing.

But that having been said, they couldn't just stay at the ruined Estate indefinitely either, even if there _was_ a miraculously discovered wealth of food and supplies to keep them going. It had been Kagome who pointed this out to the others, even though most of the slaves were disinclined to listen to her or trust anything she said. And unfortunately her words were logical enough they couldn't be ignored forever.

So far it appeared the rest of the world was unaware of what had taken place on the Shinto Estate; not surprising, since Taro Higurashi had been such a quiet, solitary man. He'd had few enemies, certainly, but he'd also kept even fewer friends. Preferring the solitude of his Estate to facing the realities of the rest of the world. But Kagome knew that couldn't last forever. First, her father's new horses were slated to arrive within the month; whoever did the delivering would discover a ruined house and an abandoned estate and easily deduce what had happened. And second (and more important), the Nasaki family had notified all of their acquaintances when they'd sought shelter with the Higurashis. Kagome figured it was a miracle nothing had come for them yet, and that any day letters could arrive, which would leave them with a major dilemma. If they killed the carrier who brought the letters, he would be reported missing within a few days, and everything would eventually be traced back to the estate. If they let him live he'd report what he had seen immediately, on pain of death if he otherwise remained silent.

Either way, it would result in the swift, brutal punishment of the slaves by the soldiers. There was no question what would happen; none would live long enough to regret any of their decisions.

Such a reality left a somber, quiet, reflective atmosphere as people went about their daily chores. Trying to keep a false sense of normalcy even as they were clearly struggling to not panic. Mothers comforting their children, and husbands trying to reassure wives all would be well. Some talked about surrender by the time real hunger started to set in. Desperate for food and willing to do anything to get it, they proposed throwing themselves on the mercy of the system. On the opposite end some of the younger slaves talked about more violence; about taking over neighboring estates and expanding their lands and in the process gaining more food and shelter for their own.

Still, for most of the rational heads in the group, including Kagome, the answer was obvious: they would have to leave. The longer they remained, the more they risked discovery. At least if they were gone by the time the revolt was discovered, they would have a chance of hiding from those who would be dispatched to 'retrieve and punish' them. Still, having tried to voice such an opinion multiple times and then having been ignored by the other slaves, Kagome remained silent on the matter. Recognizing they didn't want anything to do with her, and so instead going about her work and for the most part keeping to herself.

It was clear the others were trying to punish her. Giving her some of the harder menial labor tasks, such as fetching water from the well or chopping and carrying firewood. Tasks that caused her hands to bleed even as the ashes from the fire put gray on her cheeks and mud put dirt on the hem of her dress. Her feet were blistered from the uncomfortable, tough leather of the boots she was now wearing; a far cry from the silk slippers she'd always worn in the mansion. And the dress itself, which had been given to her once it was clear she couldn't work indefinitely in a nightgown, was made of wool, the material scratchy and uncomfortable on her neck and arms. Leaving her red and itchy by the end of each day.

Kagome knew they were testing her. Knew they were waiting for her to break down and cry. And she refused. Stubbornly seeing it for the test it was, and determined to pass. It wasn't about acceptance from them any longer; it was about proving to herself she could do it. It was about making sure she could look each of them in the eye and feel no shame. Inuyasha himself had accused her of being stupid; of not understanding the world for what it truly was. And now every blister…every callous…every ache and pain and mosquito bite was her way of proving them all wrong.

She was determined to succeed, in spite of everyone else.

And there was an upside to working so hard; she quickly discovered that she was so exhausted she couldn't think about any of her grief come day's end. Tired enough she slept through the night without being haunted by dreams. Faces from the past leaving her alone as she simply lived day-to-day and tried to survive. And for that, at least, she was grateful. Not once did she let herself think about the reality that Hojo probably wouldn't recognize her now if he passed her on the street. She didn't contemplate what her father might think if he saw his daughter now with bloody hands and blistered feet. There was no point; and any time such thoughts dared to creep into her subconscious, she firmly slammed the door and refused to let them in.

Not that it was always bad. Sango or Kouga were frequently there trying to help her carry the burden. Kouga in particular, without his diamond shard, could now do far more with his superior demon strength, speed, and agility. Numerous times he'd come upon her carrying water from the well, and had taken the bucket out of her hands. Proceeding to run back and forth between the pots and the well with dizzying speed until all were filled, and having it done in one-tenth the amount of time it would have taken Kagome.

She was always grateful when he played the part of her hero, but naturally he couldn't always be there; he was often away hunting and searching for food. And likewise Sango had her own tasks to do. So Kagome did her best to work without expectation of help from anyone. A humbling experience, to be sure; Kagome learned very quickly that Inuyasha had been right…she knew how to do very little. Even the tasks her mother had taught her to do paled in comparison to what these slaves did every single day, and it was a daily struggle not to feel overwhelmed by shame.

No wonder they'd mocked her for her attempts to help them. She'd truly not understood.

Perhaps in the past there had been paid servants, rather than slaves, doing the washing and the cooking and helping her father with the farming, but there had still been an entire class of people she'd not understood at all. An entire class of people she'd taken for granted. Kagome had done work before, it was true…but it had been a choice. She and her mother could have at any moment chosen not to mend their own clothes. Could have chosen not to get out of bed, and instead delegated their tasks. But those of the servant classes, and then later the greater population of slaves…they'd had no choice. Sick or not, they had to work. Tired or not, they had to work. And Kagome felt that inevitability now on her own shoulders. It was oppressive and stifling in some ways, yet in others she almost found it liberating. Because it meant she had no time to think. She _had_ to work; therefore grief would just have to wait its turn.

Currently she was trying to stoke the fire beneath the pot where she was helping prepare dinner. Trying to milk the last bit of juice and flavor out of the bones of rabbits caught four days ago. There weren't any chunks of meat left; this broth wouldn't do much to assuage hunger. And Kagome dreaded the empty pangs of hunger she'd be feeling come morning. It was a new experience for her; she'd never had to wonder about where her next meal would come from before.

Frightening.

Crouched down as she was, trying to coax the flames a little higher and brighter without having to use more wood (she'd already learned that lesson the hard way when another woman had snapped at her for 'wasting' wood when all she had to do was stoke the fire herself), Kagome felt a muscle give way in her back and moaned softly as she stood up. A sharp pain running up and down her spine and leaving her feeling the effects of over two weeks of hard labor on a body unaccustomed to such work.

Arching backwards, she winced as she tried to work out the kinks in her muscles.

"We don't rest until everyone's fed," one of the older women barked as she came into the room, which was one of the slave huts converted instead into a mass production kitchen. "Stand up, girl, and get back to it."

Kagome had heard this woman speak in such a way to all the others, so she knew it wasn't necessarily a personal attack, but even so she felt tears of frustration threatening in the corners of her eyes as she went back to the pot and stirred. Checking on their pathetic attempt at soup and biting back the retort at the tip of her tongue; desperate to point out to that woman she'd not stopped moving all day long. But it would only start a fight, and she wasn't interested in fighting. She was tired of fighting. So she said nothing.

"Have the hunters returned yet?" She finally dared to ask, careful to keep her eyes on the pot.

The other woman, middle aged, robust, and with a weathered face that showed she'd not been permitted to age very well courtesy of the hard life she'd lived, just sighed. "Yes. And empty-handed, I might add."

Biting her lip, Kagome ignored the way her stomach rumbled as though in protest of that revelation. Mourning the food it wouldn't be having that night. "I see."

The woman, called Noriko, paused in her work and turned to study Kagome intently. "Is that all you have to say?"

Surprised, Kagome looked up. "What else am I supposed to say?"

Shrugging her wide shoulders, Noriko plopped several pieces of laundry into a pot of boiling water and began stirring them with a large wooden paddle. "You're bound to know more about these sorts of things than us, educated as you are about the world as it is today. I just thought you'd have more of an opinion about what should be done."

Biting her lip, Kagome tried to dole out her words carefully. But in the end her response sounded petty, even to her own ears. "People have made it very clear they don't want to hear my opinion. They'd rather I just disappear. So I'm doing my best to oblige them."

Noriko gave an undignified snort at that, dropping the paddle and placing her hands on her hips with a raised eyebrow. "I didn't have you pegged as a girl who'd give up so easily." Kagome blushed but refused to look up. This drew a little laugh from the older woman. "Come on, girl…you had to expect some of them would want to put you through your paces. That shouldn't mean you suddenly have no right to speak though, should it?"

"No, but I…"

"Don't be petty or stubborn. You've been working hard. I've seen it. You have every right to stare them in the face and demand to be heard." Seeming to recall herself, the older woman looked away again and returned to washing clothes in the boiling pot of water before her. Lice had become an issue without proper sanitation, and they were now trying to remedy the problem.

Silence filled the space for a time, other than the sounds of sloshing water, but it wasn't an unpleasant silence. Until finally Noriko spoke again, not looking up this time. Her face reddened by exposure to the steam coming off the surface of the water. "And anyway, you can't take all of this too personally. I speak to you the same way I speak to anyone. I don't have time for small talk, and I don't have time to tiptoe around feelings. I think you'd find most of the others are the same way. It's nothing personal; we just have a lot that needs doing, and no time to waste getting it done." Her voice went quiet. "And…everyone is afraid. No one is at their best when afraid."

It was quite possibly the kindest thing anyone had said to her in weeks, and Kagome felt a little smile flicker over her face as she looked on the older woman with gratitude. "I'll try to keep that in mind," she said at last. "And come to think of it, I do have a few thoughts…" She shot the older woman a meaningful look.

"Oh, and what might that be?" Noriko did an admirable job of pretending she wasn't interested.

"Well…my father had already sold most of his crops for the winter. That means there's an awful lot of money sitting in his bank accounts right now." She spoke slowly, watching Noriko for a response, and seeing the precise moment when the other woman understood what she was saying.

A slow smile spread over the former slave's face. "You do have a few ideas, don't you?"

Kagome returned the smile while wiping her hands on her apron and stepping back to look at the pot with a sigh. "Regardless of that, I'm out of ideas for what to do with this soup. It'll have to do."

Noriko nodded with a grunt. "Yes, I suppose it will. Serve yourself a bowl and go take a break. I'll call the others in to eat."

Grateful for the chance at a bit of solitude, Kagome didn't have to be told twice as she ladled a small helping into a mug and moved away from the pot. Relishing the cool air as she stepped outside and let it hit her face.

Winter was a bad time to be without food or shelter, there was no question…but after stoking fires all afternoon and working over boiling pots of water, Kagome was ready for a chance to cool down. Grabbing a shawl that was hanging off a hook near the door, she wrapped it over her shoulders and took her mug with her as she moved towards the garden. Figuring she'd sit with her parents for a while in silence…but she didn't get that far. Instead she paused as she saw the hunters in a group nearby, and among them a familiar head of silver hair caught her attention.

Inuyasha.

Whatever pleasant mood she'd been feeling vanished as she saw the man. She'd hardly spoken to him in the weeks since she'd purified his shard, and that wasn't by her own choice. It was more because of him. One fight was all it had taken to drive a wedge between them again. He'd stormed in, angry as an avenging angel at the sight of blisters on her hands, and she'd yelled back that he couldn't save her from a hard day's work. Everyone else had to pull their weight, so she would too.

Suffice it to say, the argument hadn't ended well.

Why couldn't he understand that she had to work? Why couldn't he see that any special treatment she received only ended up causing her pain in the end when the others treated her with mistrust and disrespect? Her best chance at fitting in was putting blisters on her hands and calluses on her feet like everyone else. Yet he'd been upset about it, for reasons that left her baffled. What had she done? Wasn't this what he'd wanted from her? Hadn't he always been insisting she needed to get down in the dirt with the rest of them?

First he'd mocked her for being too clean and pretty and polished…and yet now he was just as upset about her working in the mud. Damned if she could figure the man out.

Unfortunately since that fight he'd been avoiding her, clearly angry…and it broke her heart. Emotionally, fool that she was she was still drawn to the man. She wanted to be closer to him. She wanted to know him…to understand him; hating that she still felt like there was a wall between them, erected by him to keep her out of his life.

In the end, to protect herself she'd been avoiding him lately as a result as well. Not giving him the chance to walk away from her, because she'd walk away first. Petty, perhaps, but it's all she could think of.

She intended to do that again here, figuring she'd just walk by the group and go on her way, but before she could, Kouga spotted her. "Kagome!" He called out her name, and all the hunters turned as one to look at her…including Inuyasha.

She couldn't exactly keep walking now, could she?

His eyes left her feeling naked, as though he could read her every thought and feeling, and she was uncomfortable. Torn as she wanted to rush off and pretend she'd not heard anyone say her name…but instead she paused with a neutral expression on her face as the wolf prince approached. Kouga took in her figure as well, getting that look she now recognized as regret as he noted her dirty face, hands, and muddied wool dress. He didn't look angry like Inuyasha; he just looked sad. But it still left her feeling embarrassed. Aware of the mud and ash and dirt on her face, knowing she'd not had a proper bath in weeks. Feeling the way the material of her dress was practically sticking to her skin; skin that was now almost permanently reddish pink under the abrasive material of the wool. Undoubtedly her hair was a mess too, and she foolishly brought a hand up to check it before dropping it again almost immediately. Recalling herself to the present moment and knowing these weren't times to worry about her hair.

Was she self-conscious?

Yes.

In the deepest, darkest, secret regions of her heart she was self-conscious and embarrassed that she looked this way. A woman accustomed to fine gowns and daily baths and polished fingernails and soft skin…this was all a bit of a shock for her. A shock…and a source of insecurity. Though she'd never admit to it out loud because it would only draw scorn from others, Kagome could admit to herself that she wanted to feel pretty again. She wanted to look nice. She wanted to feel clean. Yearned to wash the grease out of her hair and watch the dust lift off her skin and fade away.

Momentarily her eyes darted to Inuyasha, and she flushed with embarrassment, recalling how he'd once remarked on the softness of her hands, and she shivered at those memories even as she knew he'd not say so now. Knowing instead he was angry about the blisters. A part of her wanted those hands back as a result. But of course she'd never say such a thing aloud; instead it was one more secret to bury deep within her heart where no one else could find it.

She was acquiring quite a few of those secrets lately.

"Was there something you wanted?" She asked at last, forcing herself to look directly at Kouga again, and refusing to look at the others any more, apart from that initial moment when her eyes had locked with Inuyasha's.

Kouga shook his head as though coming out of his own private thoughts before putting an arm around her waist and pulling her close. Too close, perhaps, to be considered proper…but Kagome allowed it nonetheless. There wasn't anything sexual in the gesture; yes, the man could flirt when he wanted to, but in this moment she knew he was just offering her the comfort of a friend. And she was grateful, taking that comfort and drawing it around her protectively like the lonely woman she was. "I thought you might have a suggestion or two for us," he said at last, his voice confident as he steered her reluctantly towards the others. "Seeing as how we've found no food and clearly need to come up with a different plan."

That was Kouga; all confidence no matter what situation you put him into. Kagome had to admire him for it. She could see, in every inch of his body, that he'd been raised as a prince. He exuded leadership qualities, others drawn to him almost in spite of themselves. And his confidence gave _her_ confidence as she dared to look at the others as she entered their circle. Noting the distrust in some of their eyes, but also noting more of them now seemed open to hearing what she might have to say than they had even a week ago.

They were hungry. And being hungry, they were clearly willing to put aside any grudges they might hold in favor of getting something to eat. Survival came first above everything else.

Still, she was hardly a mind reader. "Um…" Clutching her mug a little tighter in her hands, she felt the blisters on her fingers but ignored the discomfort. "…I'm not sure what I can do to help, unless someone first tells me what you've already talked about."

The demons looked at one another, before finally Inuyasha spoke. Kagome couldn't ignore him any more, and as she looked at him she felt the usual punch to her gut. His eyes seeing right through her, though the anger she saw in his gaze simply left her feeling hollow. She saw how he raked his gaze over her from head to toe, undoubtedly disapproving of what he was seeing.

Finding fault, no doubt.

She did her best to ignore it.

"There is no food left on these lands. And there are too many of us to support all together. The only possible solution we can think of is to split up, but we don't know where to go or what to do. And of course splitting up makes us vulnerable; smaller numbers makes us weaker." His eyes were sharp as he looked at her, seeing more than she really wanted him to, and Kagome was again reminded of what she'd said to Sango all those months ago; that this man was far more intelligent than anyone gave him credit for. He was so quick to get angry that he seemed shallow and temperamental…but beneath all of that was someone with a highly educated mind.

Not for the first time, Kagome wondered about _his_ origins. But she didn't dare ask. The few times she'd tried to casually inquire about him to Miroku, the former monk had clammed up and danced around the issue, making it very clear Inuyasha would keep his secrets until _he_ was ready to tell them.

Fine.

More mistrust then.

Letting that frustration propel her and give her confidence, Kagome straightened her shoulders and looked Inuyasha square in the face as she finally gave a reply. "Well let's start with the obvious: we can't stay here. I think that's something we can all agree on." The others nodded their heads one by one. "And I think you're right, that trying to move everyone together is a mistake. It would be far too obvious and easy to spot, having a group this big moving down a road." She looked at her hands for a moment, holding the mug of broth, and her eyes drifted briefly to the chord on her left wrist. The chord currently holding the diamond shards she'd purified and removed from all the demons on the estate. Those shards, now a brilliant pink, were a reminder to these men and women now that _she_ had done _them_ a favor, and if nothing else, it seemed to guarantee they'd at least listen to what she had to say.

That and the fact that Kouga was standing so close, and making it clear he supported everything she had to say. Kagome supposed she should have stubbornly insisted on standing alone, but she'd learned in these past several weeks not to turn down _any_ advantage she might be given. So instead she used his support to her full advantage as she stood at his side.

"But I do have a few thoughts, if you're willing to hear them," she finally said. Recalling the encouraging smile Noriko had given her back in the hut and using that to boost her confidence as she prepared to make her case. Knowing it wouldn't necessarily be embraced by everyone.

Finally the others all nodded their heads, and she relaxed slightly. Feeling Kouga's hand come to rest on her shoulder and give her an encouraging squeeze. "Right…" Swallowing, she studied the mug again. Trying to gather her thoughts so she explained everything just right. "We can't move everyone at once. I think the only solution is to break into smaller groups and move at separate times, like you said. If we could find a safe place to go…a safe place to meet…I think that's what we should do. No group bigger than about six traveling at a time, with a set rendezvous point…although I don't know where that place would be." Looking up, she saw a sea of blank, skeptical faces, and plunged ahead. "In the meantime, I…I think I know how I can get food for everyone."

The blank faces lit up with interest, and her heart pounded in her chest as she finally dared to look at Inuyasha again. He was staring at her intently. "My father has bank accounts, with plenty of money. And as of yet no one knows he is…dead…" She struggled over that word, but pushed on and swallowed the lump that suddenly appeared in her throat. Kouga's fingers tightened again briefly on her shoulder, this time in silent support. "I can access his accounts; he made me a cosigner on everything a long time ago." His attempt to make her part of the family business, she added to herself, but she kept that private. It had been a source of many arguments between them. She'd called it blood money. And in a sense it was; money earned through the hard work of slaves. But perhaps now, at least, it might do some good. She could use it to save all of these people. And in a way, just maybe, redeem her father somewhat in her memory as a result.

Unfortunately it wasn't that simple; there was a reason she'd not brought this idea up before. Tension in the group had expanded rapidly, and now Kagome could see several people looking at her with suspicion, practically reading their thoughts. Which meant when one of them finally spoke, she wasn't surprised by what the demon said. "You want us to just allow you to walk into a bank somewhere in a city, and withdraw funds? How do we know you won't reveal what's happened while you're there? Cities are crawling with soldiers, no doubt. How do we know you'd not betray us all?"

Kagome lifted her chin defiantly. "Because I won't. I give you my word."

There were several barks of bitter laughter in response to that vow, and one demon even spat on the ground. "Your word is no better than the word of your father."

"My _father_ is dead," she snapped back. Moving away from Kouga as her temper flared. "You all made sure of that. And in the meantime, I've stayed here when I had no reason to stay. If I wanted to betray you, I would have left a long time ago and done so, and spared my feet and hands the blisters. This is dangerous for me too, in case you haven't thought of that. The authorities will eventually do the math, and realize my father died before I came and got the money. I'll be a marked woman, just like the rest of you. So if that's not proof enough of my loyalty, I don't know what is." She looked at them all without flinching. "And anyway, my father died for your cause. The best way I can make sure he didn't die in vain now is to help you."

Kouga pulled her back abruptly and stepped between her and the others. "Forget it, Kagome, I won't let you do such a thing."

Startled by the interruption, Kagome felt some of her confidence falter. "Don't be ridiculous." Her eyes darted to the wolf prince before looking at the ground. "It's the only way. I can pull out enough money to buy food and supplies, before they discover the truth and freeze all of his accounts. I won't have access to it once they realize I failed to report what happened, or if they think I died in the fire." Her voice was surprisingly calm, showing she had indeed thought about this for several days, although her eyes weren't quite meeting Kouga's as his gaze drilled a hole in the top of her head.

She knew his objections, but was ignoring them, because she'd already thought it through and was willing to take the risk. She would officially throw her lot in with the slaves by doing such a thing, of course; it wouldn't matter what her father had done or how loyally he'd served the new regime. She would be seen as a rebel helping the slaves, and her punishment when she was caught would be no different than any of the others. In some ways, her punishment would possibly be worse.

Traitor was a dangerous, powerful word.

She could see that was Kouga's fear now; could see it in his clear blue eyes as she finally looked up. And so in response she tried to soften her expression as she touched the side of his face with a kind hand. "I'm prepared to take the risk, Kouga. I've made up my mind. The rest of you just find a safe place to go, and I'll bring the food and supplies."

The wolf prince was clearly torn, and she could see the others were equally conflicted…though she suspected their conflict had less to do with her well being than their own.

The only one in the group who didn't seem confused about his feelings was Inuyasha; the man looked about ready to explode. Moving forward abruptly, he caught Kagome by the arm and hauled her close, his grip she had no doubt leaving bruises on her skin. But he wasn't looking at her; instead his gaze was directed at the others. "I'll go with her. I'll make sure she does the job, and then gets out of there. Does that satisfy you?"

"Inuyasha-" He cut her protest off with a vicious squeeze, and she winced and went silent. Though the glare on her face now was equally murderous to his.

The others eventually nodded their heads and disbanded briefly to plan and decide where they would be going from here, leaving Kagome alone with both Kouga and Inuyasha. And she wasted no time blasting them with her anger. "How dare you?" She snatched her arm away from Inuyasha's grip and whirled on him in a fit of rage. "I wasn't asking for your support, and I certainly don't need you checking up on me. Do you not trust me any more than they do? Is that what's going on here?"

With a snarl Inuyasha grabbed her again and pulled her closer. "Do you realize what you're doing, you stupid, brainless woman?" He gripped both her shoulders in his hands and gave her a solid shake. "Do you understand what will happen once they put all the pieces together? Do you know what kind of danger you'll be in? You'll be worse than a slave…you'll be a traitor. They kill traitors, Kagome. They execute them in the town square as an example. I've seen it!"

"I know what they do!" She fired back, her anger allowing her in that moment to be brave. "But what else would you have me do? Sit around and watch everyone starve to death while my small window of opportunity closes?"

For once Kouga seemed to agree with Inuyasha as he moved in close behind her, leaving her feeling downright claustrophobic between the two men. "It would be better if you just wait, and let them think you died with your father. You'll be safer that way."

"No."

"Kagome!" Inuyasha gave her another shake, and she felt her teeth rattle. But in that instant, as she looked into his eyes, she understood more than she ever had before.

He cared.

He genuinely cared for her wellbeing.

This wasn't just him not trusting her; he was afraid for her safety. He was going along with her to keep her safe, and even now was desperately trying to talk her out of doing something he saw as a suicide mission. All the thoughts she'd had, that he didn't like her…that he hated her…vanished in one instant. The pain of the last several weeks melting away as it was instead replaced by an unfamiliar warmth. She dared to hope. "Inuyasha…"

"Don't you dare look at me like that," he snarled as he abruptly let her go and turned away, unable to look at her a second longer. Hating what he saw. Hating what these weeks of hard labor had done to her. Her beautiful ebony hair currently pulled back under a bandana, greasy and unwashed, her skin having lost its glow as it was now covered in ash, mud, and dust. Her hands – so soft and elegant – were covered in blisters, and he saw how she winced any time she went to grip something solid. And she walked with a careful, practiced step that told him her feet were undoubtedly blistered and raw as well; unaccustomed to the hard, unforgiving leather of poorly made boots.

It's what he'd always claimed he wanted; for the masters to fall and work in the trenches just like the slaves. And he would have gladly seen it happen to anyone else…but not Kagome. For some reason, seeing her this way only made his heart ache. He saw how desperately she was trying to work. How desperately she was trying to please everyone and reassure them through her actions that she was a good person and worth keeping alive…and it broke his heart. It reminded him of his mother; the beautiful Izayoi reduced to the same kind of menial labor. But she'd been such a delicate woman in her own way, and in the end she'd not lasted. Kagome was perhaps made of tougher stuff, but that didn't make what he was seeing any easier.

He'd tried shielding her from the worst of the labor in the beginning, but the stubborn wench had insisted on doing her part and looking good for the other slaves, and in the end he'd just withdrawn from her completely as a result. Unable to stand watching her stumble from the well with buckets of water. Barely able to tolerate watching her inexperienced hands try and grip an axe to chop firewood. She was so awkward and slow in everything she did, and many of the others laughed at her behind their hands.

He hated it.

She deserved better. For all his initial resentment of her, it seemed now that she was just like him, all he wanted to do was put her back up on her pedestal. She didn't belong in this world. She was too naïve. Too kind. Too trusting.

And now she had to go and offer yet another harebrained idea, and he felt heartsick over the very thought of it. He'd been at slave auctions in town squares, where he'd witnessed executions. They weren't pretty sights. The idea of Kagome being led to the gallows, of watching the noose put around her neck…

His stomach heaved at the very thought, and he forced himself back to the present moment as he looked at her again. Reminding himself she was very much alive and standing before him, however stupid she might be acting. "Have you thought of the reality that first you have to find your way to a city, without us being discovered?" He was pacing now, clearly agitated and only getting more wound up by the second. "And then you have to look enough like a lady to get into a bank without arousing suspicion. How are you going to do that when you don't have any dresses left? And then of course there's the moment where you're actually speaking to those at the bank. Telling them why it's you, and not your father, coming for the money. You're not a good liar, Kagome Higurashi…how do you plan to keep a straight face through all of this and not get caught?"

He watched as she lifted her chin proudly in the air, and felt something swell within him in response. Heat spreading through his body as he longed to reach out and pull her close and vow nothing would ever get near her again; wanting to protect that ferocious spirit of hers, which was only so strong because nothing had yet had a chance to break it. He'd never known anyone like her. She looked at the world, and genuinely believed she could make it a better place. She wasn't cynical or jaded, the way he was…the way so many of them were. Life hadn't beaten her completely into the ground yet.

But it would.

The real world would eventually break her, and he knew he'd break right along with her when that happened.

Why did he care so much? Miroku had asked him that question multiple times, and thus far Inuyasha hadn't come up with a very good answer. He just knew he wanted to protect her, for as long as he possibly could. Every bruise, cut, scrape, and blister currently on her body felt like a failure to him. A reminder that somehow he was letting her down. And he hated it.

"I'll figure all that out when I get there," Kagome was saying, pulling him back to reality. "You can help me get to the city, then we'll worry about getting a dress. The rest will come to us…eventually."

So confident…and yet with no real plan to speak of. The woman thought it was as simple as that? To just figure it out when she got there? Didn't she understand the high stakes of this gamble? "You're completely mad," he whispered at last before looking at Kouga with a sigh. Both men seeming to understand the reality that they wouldn't be talking Kagome Higurashi out of anything once she'd made up her mind. "Why don't you go and find Sango and Miroku. Perhaps they can be of some help in this crazy idea of hers."

"I'll be coming along too," the wolf prince vowed before turning and running off to find the others.

Inuyasha again looked at Kagome, who was staring at her boots. "I'm not trying to be difficult, Inuyasha…" She whispered, her voice soft.

Hell…the woman turned him inside out and she didn't even realize she was doing it! "Well you _are_ being difficult," he snapped back. Meaning to teach her a lesson. "You honestly thought I'd just let you go wandering off on this mission all by yourself? And now you've drug Kouga into this too. That stupid mutt doesn't know how to be discrete. He'll probably get us all killed in the end."

Continuing to grumble, he paused when he abruptly realized Kagome wasn't looking frightened or ashamed…rather, the infernal woman was smiling! It left him absolutely flabbergasted as he tried to figure out what she would have to smile about. "What's suddenly made you so happy?" The smile only grew. "This isn't funny, woman! You do realize Sango's probably going to insist on coming along too, and that's all we need…another stupid, hardheaded woman. You're putting us all at risk, and for what? Just to prove you can?"

She shook her head and looked away. But the smile was now lighting up her entire face, and damned if Inuyasha didn't feel like almost smiling in response. "I'm sorry…it's just…for the first time in a long time, I feel like…like I have people who care about me. Like things might be okay."

Inuyasha grunted. "You're mad, woman. Completely mad."

Abruptly she touched him, and he felt any light feelings shatter as abruptly he was drowning in the look he saw on her face. She looked up at him, and Inuyasha felt his world shift the way it always seemed to when he was caught up in those cobalt blue eyes of hers. "You're so strong, Inuyasha. I can only hope to be half as strong as you are." No one ever looked at him like that, except for her. And that in spite of the way he'd treated her almost from the first moment they'd met.

With a growl Inuyasha waved her comment away. Stepping away from the feel of her fingers on his face, even though a part of him yearned to do exactly the opposite and lean into it. "Don't say such things." He reached out without thinking and took one of her hands in both of his. Watching as she dropped the mug she'd been holding to the ground even as he lightly brushed his fingers over a particularly nasty blister on the inside of her thumb. Kagome gasped, clearly in pain, and he looked up at her face. "You're the brave one."

Their eyes met and held for a brief moment, and the world stopped turning. In that instant, it was clear they both were remembering the kiss…that stolen kiss behind the barn, that now seemed so long ago and so very far away. A blush stole over her cheeks, visible even with the dirt on her face, and Inuyasha found himself flush in response as his eyes darted down to look at her mouth.

"Inuyasha…" She whispered his name, and he could see that she wanted him to kiss her again. Could feel the answering need in the thrumming of his own heart. She was the first and only woman he'd ever _wanted_ to kiss. Many master's daughters had ordered him to kiss them; some had kissed him without giving him a chance to refuse. But Kagome was the first he'd wanted to kiss all on his own.

Leaning forward, he gently touched the side of her face…only to snap back when he heard footsteps, and turned to see several women walking by and shaking their heads in disgust. Abruptly he felt ashamed of himself for losing so much control, and backed away with a growl. "I'll come find you when we're ready to make our plans," he said at last. Not looking at her, and leaving Kagome utterly confused as she simply nodded silently, hurt clear on her face. He ignored it as he turned and walked away.

It was for the best. He was not a human. Hell, he wasn't even a demon. He was a half-breed. Imagine how much more disgusted those women would have been if they knew _that_ horrible truth.

Kagome was a rare one, indeed, to not care what he was. His mother had of course been that way; she'd fallen in love with a demon, and not cared what others thought of the union. But Inuyasha knew better, and he wouldn't subject her to more scorn than she was already receiving. The slaves already didn't trust her. The last thing she needed to do was get branded as a 'demon lover' on top of all that.

No…there were divisions that ran far deeper than just wealth or class or social status in this rag tag band of theirs. And while they all had one goal in mind when it came to regaining their freedom, at the end of the day Inuyasha knew, deep down, that there were still plenty of prejudices on both sides. He'd experienced it growing up; even as a prince he'd been mocked and teased and scorned by others, and his mother had been left to dry his tears. Never would he put someone else through that.

Never.

"You'll thank me in the end," he whispered into the wind, and hoped those words would be enough to make _him_ feel better, because even as he walked away a part of him yearned to turn around; refusing to do so, because if he did, he might not have the willpower to keep walking. Instead, as he spotted Miroku up ahead, he waved to his friend and walked faster.


End file.
